Cuckoo in the Nest
by Hikaru7
Summary: SnK AU - Although their relationship is not exactly without conflict, Eren gets on well with his adopted sister, Mikasa. However, his life soon changes when their parents decide to bring another child into the family... A story of the slowly unfolding relationship between Eren and his adopted brother Levi. [WARNING: Implied EreRi, unsettling violence, spoilers.]
1. Turnaround

**Notes: **This one is experimental. The first chapter turned out very different than what I originally had in mind, and I only have a vague idea where this is going. I'm still not sure about the genre. Sorry for any bad English, I'm trying my best.

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**Chapter 01**

**Turnaround**

_I always make sure to forget all the bad things. Maybe that's why I seem to have such few memories. Even so, I would still remember that fated day for the rest of my life._

Eren found it strangely amusing how the world appeared to be so entirely different when viewed from upside down. He would usually try it in the park, hanging from a branch and watching the earth and the sky swap places. The sky always seemed to be so close then, he almost felt like he could touch it with his hands. Whether it was clear blue or cloudy grey, he loved to look up at the sky.

It was Eren's second week in his new high school. His first day was awful enough, and each one that followed brought other bad memories that needed to be cleared from his mind. He almost began to think it couldn't get any worse, until that day…

During P.E., they were doing some gymnastic exercises involving a lot of ropes and climbing. It almost looked to him like some military training. He wasn't really good at such things, especially when others were watching. He always had the feeling that they were just waiting for him to screw things up – which happened most of the time. This time, too, he failed to perform the exercise properly, and somehow ended up upside down, tangled in the ropes. The teacher was shouting at him, while the other students were laughing loudly at his clumsiness. Eren's face was becoming hot, and not only because he was hanging upside down: it was shame and anger that burned his face. He was already painfully familiar with the feeling of humiliation and helpless frustration.

Even at a time like that, only Mikasa would look at him with eyes that had no laughter or scorn in them. But somehow he found that her impassive gaze angered him more than all the rest.

That day served as another reminder how miserable his life was in almost every respect. And no matter how hard he tried, he would always end up a failure. But the worst thing about all that was to know he had a sister who excelled in everything.

"Don't mind them." Mikasa told him on their way back home. "It's not worth bursting in anger because of those jerks."

Eren couldn't hide his frustration, and especially not from his sister. To let off some steam, he was kicking fallen acorns and chestnuts, or whatever that came in his way.

It was a late autumn day, and the two of them took their usual route home, which led through a small, rather abandoned park. Eren loved that place, since people rarely came there. The park wasn't big enough to play ball-games, there weren't any benches to sit down on, and the vegetation was uncared for.

"I was trying to forget all about that." Eren replied, irritated with his sister. "Thanks for bringing it up again."

"Can't you just tell me what your problem is?" Mikasa insisted.

'It's _you_ I'm really angry with, not _them_.' Eren thought to himself. 'Why do you have to follow me all the time?'

He didn't want to get into another of their old arguments, so he evaded Mikasa's question. Still, he knew too well that Mikasa would keep on pestering him if he didn't make up something to distract her.

"Let's play a game." he suddenly proposed, bending down to pick up an acorn.

He hoped that he would succeed in taking both Mikasa's and his own mind off of what happened in school.

"Giant-killing again?" Mikasa asked, and Eren was relieved to find that she seemed to like the idea.

It was a game they invented as children, and even though they were now both 15, sometimes Eren could still get Mikasa to play with him.

"That's right." Eren replied, gathering more acorns into his hand. "Today, we shall kill it."

Mikasa gave an exasperated sigh, although she was usually amused by the games Eren made up, and was always ready to humour him. She knew it was getting late and they should be heading home, but Eren sounded so determined this time that she couldn't help but play along.

"Can't you leave that poor thing alone?" she pleaded as a last attempt at changing his mind.

"No." Eren replied promptly. "It's fucking ugly."

They went to a clearing among the overgrown bushes. There was a small fountain with a weatherworn statue standing on a pedestal in the middle. Once it might have been a little angel, but now, without its wings, it looked like a fat gnome. It was missing an arm, which was successfully blown off during an earlier attack.

"You start it." Eren said, giving a handful of acorns to Mikasa.

She took one between her fingers, aimed, and shot the statue right between the eyes. Eren expected as much, since Mikasa was good at everything she ever tried.

When it was only the two of them, he even felt proud of his sister. However, when they were with others, he couldn't help but feel the way people must be comparing them to each other all the time. And Eren was aware that he didn't compare well with his sister: Mikasa was smart and good at sports, popular among other students, while Eren could only barely manage at school, and rarely talked to others. Other than his best friend Armin, he only had Mikasa on his side.

"Your turn." Mikasa said, stepping back a little to let Eren take his position in front of the statue.

He knew he was bad at aiming, but he didn't really care – after all, it was just a game, with nothing at stake. He shot, and missed, only grazing the side of the statue's head.

They kept on shooting acorns and small stones at the 'giant' until they ran out of ammunition. Mikasa managed to tear down another piece from its arm, but it was still standing firmly on its pedestal in the middle of the fountain.

"Next time, I'm gonna blow its head off." Eren swore, flopping down on a heap of fallen leaves beneath a tree.

"You always say that." Mikasa said, balancing on the rim of the fountain and walking around.

Mikasa wondered whether Eren would ever get tired of making up games. Something told her it was about time, but she secretly hoped he wouldn't, since these were something that connected the two of them from the very beginning.

The game managed to clear the bad memories of the day from Eren's head, but it also made him tired. He closed his eyes, and before he knew it, he dozed off.

Images of falling leaves flashed before his eyes – or were they feathers? Black and white feathers were falling from the sky, stained with crimson. The images in his dream changed so rapidly he couldn't quite catch them. The last thing he remembered was looking at an overcast sky – or into a pair of eyes?

"Mikasa?" Eren called, suddenly sitting up.

"We should go home now." Mikasa said, bending over him. "It's getting dark, and you'll catch a cold if you just lie there."

Eren noticed that she was holding a bunch of colourful leaves she had been gathering earlier, and something about his dream came back to him.

"Okay, let's go home." he agreed, and stood up, shaking down the leaves stuck on the back of his uniform jacket.

He realized that Mikasa was looking at his face with a worried expression.

"Eren, why are you crying?" she asked.

"I'm not crying." Eren snapped, bringing a hand unconsciously to his face and realizing that it was indeed wet with tears. "Something must've gotten into my eyes."

"While they were shut?" Mikasa asked incredulously.

Eren hastily turned his back on her and began walking home. He couldn't fully recall his dream, but it left him with a sad feeling he couldn't quite explain.

Mikasa caught up with him, and walked closely by his side.

'If only there was only you and me in the world, then...' Eren thought, holding back his hand before he could reach out for Mikasa's.

When they were children, they used to hold hands while walking home from school. Eren always found it very comforting, knowing that he was not alone. Later, however, when others began to make nasty remarks about them, he decided it was embarrassing. Even though Mikasa still wanted to hold hands sometimes, he always refused.

"Eren?" Mikasa called to him, feeling a slight brush at her hand.

Eren quickened his pace, leaving Mikasa a few steps behind. Soon, they could see the warm lights coming from the windows of their family home.

"Don't tell them anything about today, got that?" Eren said to Mikasa before they opened the front door.

They were immediately met by their mother in the front hall. She wore a worried expression, but one that told them they would be scolded as soon as the front door closed behind them.

"Where have you been for so late?" she asked, measuring up the two of them with strict eyes. "Eren, your clothes are dirty! Don't tell me you were playing in the park again? What about your homework?"

"I'm doing it later." Eren replied, taking his shoes off.

"We're sorry, Mom." Mikasa said, hiding the bunch of leaves behind her back.

Eren's mother could be very intimidating, even for her.

"It's my fault, Mom." Eren admitted. "Mikasa was only looking after me, as usual."

"Well, it's good we have Mikasa, or I'd worry myself sick about you." she said, turning back towards the kitchen for a moment.

Eren rolled his eyes. Sometimes it was like he had two mothers.

"Mom, do we have a guest?" Mikasa asked, noticing that there was a pair of men's shoes, too small to be their father's.

"Yes." their mother replied a bit nervously. "Your father called earlier. He still has some work to do in the hospital, but he wants to tell something very important to you when he returns. But first, I think I'll introduce you."

"To whom?" Mikasa asked, curious about the owner of the pair of shoes, which were perfectly clean and shining.

"Come with me to the kitchen." their mother said.

Eren had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. He didn't like strangers, especially when they came visiting their home.

The person was sitting at the dining table, one arm resting on the back of the chair, the other holding a teacup. When they came in, he stood up to greet them. He appeared small and frail, but his eyes were piercing.

"Levi, dear, these are my children." their mother began in a sweet voice which Eren found strange. "Mikasa and Eren. I hope you guys will get on well."

Eren and Mikasa exchanged slightly confused glances before attempting to greet the stranger.

"Hello, nice to meet you." Mikasa said politely, even managing to smile at him in a friendly manner.

"Hello." Eren said curtly, feeling uncomfortable under the stranger's gaze, which seemed to measure them up from top to bottom with a displeased look.

The person called Levi didn't return Mikasa's friendly smile. He had grey eyes and hair as dark as Mikasa's, but his complexion was pale, almost unhealthy. It also made Eren uneasy that it was impossible to tell his age just by looking at him. He seemed young, but his eyes looked much older.

"Nice to meet you." Levi returned their greeting in a voice that sounded devoid of emotion, and even his expression didn't show any change.

After the greetings and introduction, the atmosphere suddenly became rather tense, since both Eren and Mikasa weren't sure how to behave around the newcomer.

Eren didn't like him. He wished they would get rid of this unwanted visitor soon. Unfortunately for him, he soon learned that Levi was staying for dinner.

"Dinner's ready, so why don't you wash your hands so that we can eat together." their mother suggested, and the two of them went obediently to the bathroom.

"Who the hell is he?" Eren asked Mikasa over the sink "He looks creepy…"

"Yes." Mikasa agreed in a hushed voice. "But Father seems to know him, so he should be all right, I guess."

"I wonder what that 'important thing' is." Eren said, drying his hands on a towel.

"Eren, you should wash your face, too." Mikasa advised him.

Eren looked into the mirror, and realized that there was a streak of dirt on one of his cheeks.

'So much for first impressions…' he thought to himself. 'Not that I care, anyway…'

When they sat down at the table for dinner, Levi took Eren's usual place, so he had to sit opposite to Mikasa if he wanted to avoid sitting next to the stranger. He hated to sit close to Mikasa, because she would sometimes kick him under the table.

"How was your day, darlings?" their mother asked, as usual.

"Fine." Eren gave a curt answer, hoping that Mikasa would hold her tongue.

"Do you like your new school?" she inquired, always concerned about her children's well-being.

"It's all right." Mikasa answered for him.

"Have you made some new friends?" their mother went on asking questions.

Eren wished they weren't talking about school. To distract his mind from the matter, he stole a glance at Levi, who was eating in silence.

'He looks like a criminal…' Eren thought, observing his strange undercut.

"Yes, our classmates are very nice." Mikasa lied with a convincing smile, which made their mother relax a bit.

Then, to Eren's relief, she finally turned her attention to their guest.

"I hope you'll like that school, too." their mother said. "It's not that far away. But if you prefer the other one-"

"No. I'm fine with that." Levi replied.

Eren and Mikasa exchanged confused glances.

Their mother kept on inquiring about how Levi liked the dinner, what were his favourite dishes and what he disliked. His replies were short and indifferent. He didn't seem to have any preferences concerning food.

Their mother looked pleased. Eren and Mikasa didn't understand why she was making so much fuss about him.

Eren wanted to finish dinner as soon as possible, so he wolfed down the rest that was on his plate, and excused himself.

"Thank you, Mom. Dinner was delicious." he said, preparing to stand up. "I've still got some homework, so-"

Just then, a key turned in the front door. Their father was coming home. Their mother went to the front hall to meet him.

Eren and Mikasa were suddenly left alone with the stranger. None of them seemed to be too eager to strike up a conversation, so they remained in a rather awkward silence, until a hollow voice said:

"On my way here, I saw two kids abusing a stone statuette in the nearby park." Levi spoke up unexpectedly, to which both Eren and Mikasa jumped in surprise. "Was that you?"

He gave them a condescending look with his piercing grey eyes. Both of them were sitting on the edge of their seats, while Levi was leaning back comfortably, giving off an air that it was his home, while the other two were merely his guests.

Eren and Mikasa didn't know how to reply. Both of them felt frozen to the spot until their father came in and they greeted him. By then, they were really curious to learn why this mysterious stranger was sitting at their table, acting like he was so important.

Their father joined them at the table, and dinner was resumed. Even though he wanted to escape to his room, Eren had to sit above his empty plate until he learned what his father had to tell them. He didn't expect that his life was about to take a drastic turn.

"Children, I have to tell you something very important." their father finally announced.

Eren and Mikasa glanced at each other like ones awaiting death sentence. For some reason unknown to them, their mother looked excited and happy, while Levi's expression still remained impassive.

"Levi is going to stay with us from now on, as part of our family." their father went on. "Your mother and I decided to adopt him."

"What?" Eren blurted out with unconcealed dismay, but was instantly kicked by Mikasa under the table before he could give voice to further protest.

Eren shot Mikasa an angry glance. He noticed that she was also shocked by the news, although she was far better at concealing it. Levi's face, on the other hand, remained unreadable as he kept on staring into his empty teacup.

"I know this might be a bit sudden, but I hope you three will get on well." their father said with a warm smile, directing his words particularly to Eren.

Eren sincerely hoped it was all just a bad joke. He wasn't prepared for another sibling, and he would sure not accept _this_ one if he had any say in the matter.

"Yes, Father." Mikasa reassured him. "It was a bit of a surprise, but a nice one, actually."

Eren only mumbled something about homework before standing up and leaving the table. His mother looked after him with a worried sigh, but didn't say anything to stop him.

Eren went up to his room, feeling utterly devastated. Still wearing his school uniform, he flopped down on his bed and shut his eyes tight, hoping it was just a nightmare and he would wake up soon.

_When you start to believe that things can't go any worse, they make a sudden turn for the worst…_


	2. Sweet Home

**Chapter 02**

**Sweet Home**

_Before I came here, I never really had a place I could call home. The concept of a family was also unfamiliar to me. Being bound to a place or being connected to people means you lose part of your freedom. Yet, there is something you can still gain in exchange._

He glanced at the piece of paper in his hand. An address was scribbled on it with a doctor's flowing handwriting. He was getting close to his destination.

It was a quiet, pleasant-looking neighbourhood, with large family houses and a lot of greenery. Since it was autumn, the pavement was littered with fallen leaves. It was raining in the previous days, and he was slightly irritated at the wet leaves sticking to the soles of his shoes.

He was about to walk past a small park when he heard voices. Out of curiosity, he went closer to look, and saw two kids playing around a fountain.

"Target's up front! Don't let it escape!" the boy shouted, and the girl who was with him laughed in response.

They seemed to be absorbed in some silly game of throwing things at a statue of crumbling stone. By the look of them, they must have been high school students – he recognized the fawn-coloured uniform of a nearby high school.

'What a bunch of brats.' he frowned, turning his back on them and resuming his walk.

He checked his note once again for the house number before he went up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A kind-looking woman answered.

'Carla.' he thought, remembering the doctor telling him his wife's name.

"Good afternoon, Mrs Jäger." he said politely. "I'm-"

"You must be Levi." the woman said excitedly, inviting him in with a friendly smile. "My husband told me you'd arrive today. Do you have any luggage I can help you with?"

She was glancing around searchingly.

"No, thank you. All my stuff is in here." he said, indicating a small bag hanging from his shoulder.

For a moment, the woman looked at him with concerned eyes, but soon he was ushered into a spacious kitchen, where he received a cup of warm tea, which felt really nice after his long walk in the chilly autumn weather.

The phone rang, and Carla excused herself, going back to the front hall to pick it up. From the way she spoke into the phone in a hushed voice, he guessed they must have been talking about him.

While she was away, Levi looked around the room, taking in every detail with critical eyes. At first glance, it all looked nice and pleasant enough, with everything arranged in a neat and orderly fashion. However, he still had to test something before he made his final judgement. Carefully, he ran a finger over the surface of one of the upper shelves which was still low enough for him to reach, since he was rather short. It was a pleasant surprise to find not a speck of dust attached to his finger.

'Perfect.' he thought to himself.

On the whole, he was pleased with the place that would soon become his home.

When Carla returned, they engaged in a pleasant conversation, discussing the arrangements for his school, and so on. He noticed that the woman's attention was divided between him and the clock hanging on the kitchen wall, at which she kept on shooting nervous glances from time to time.

'Kids not home yet, huh?' Levi thought, sipping his tea.

His suspicion was proved when the front door opened and the woman rushed out to the front hall. He could soon hear her scolding tone, answered by the voices of a boy and a girl, one loud, the other sounding timid.

When Carla returned, she brought the two of them with her, introducing her children to Levi.

The girl called Mikasa had beautiful dark eyes and black hair, but she did not resemble either the doctor or his wife. The boy, on the other hand, looked very much like his mother, only he had green eyes and a rather sour expression.

As much as Levi liked the colour green, he couldn't admire those eyes for long, since his attention was soon turned to the untidy creases on the boy's uniform, and his dirty hands. When he looked at the girl again, he noticed she was holding dead leaves in one hand, obviously picked from the ground.

Levi could hardly hide his displeasure at his new siblings. He recognized them immediately as the kids from the park, and that first encounter had already established his opinion on them.

Mikasa tried to smile at him, but Levi thought it was a fake one. He hated all the hollow pleasantries. At least the boy called Eren was honest enough not to feign friendliness towards him.

As they sat down to dinner, Levi observed in silence the way they made small talk about school. He found it boring, but he guessed that was a normal thing for families to do during mealtime. Still, Eren looked tense, and Mikasa was obviously lying to make Carla feel at ease. Levi could tell they both hated school, and he couldn't really blame them.

When Carla began asking him various questions about school and his favourite dishes, he answered them patiently. In fact, he didn't really care about all that stuff. Food was food, and school was a thing one had to struggle through if they didn't want to screw up their lives – that was his opinion.

Still, when it came to school, he did have a preference. The doctor had been generous enough to let him choose whichever school he liked. Levi knew that with the doctor's money and his own brains, he would easily get acceptance even into the local elite school. But in spite of that, he still insisted on going to the same school that Mikasa and Eren attended, which was only the third best.

However, his decision wasn't influenced by his new sister and brother. He had chosen that particular school because there was a person he wanted to meet no matter what…

His thoughts were distracted by Eren's obvious lack of table manners. He was shovelling food into his mouth in a way that almost made Levi lost his appetite, which was usually rather poor anyway. Eren was eating so fast that his plate was empty before anyone else could go halfway through their meal.

"You don't have to be like Sasha." Mikasa made a remark in a low voice, looking at her brother disapprovingly.

Eren was preparing to go when there was a noise from the front door. Carla hurried out once again, leaving Levi alone with his new brother and sister.

He wondered what kind of face they would make when the doctor told them that soon they would become family. They didn't seem to be overjoyed by his presence, and after the initial greetings, they made no effort to try and start a conversation with him. On a whim, he decided to talk to them while the adults were out of the room.

"On my way here, I saw two kids abusing a stone statuette in the nearby park." he remarked casually. "Was that you?"

He leaned back on his chair to have a better look at them. Both Eren and Mikasa appeared to be tense, and neither of them replied.

'These kids seem to be scared shitless.' Levi thought to himself. 'Well, this should be fun.'

After all, he would have found it boring if everything had been so sickeningly sweet in that perfect home. Both the doctor and his wife appeared to be nice, friendly people, the kind who raised their children with loving care, giving them a warm and comfortable home. Eren and Mikasa were fortunate to have such parents. And soon, Levi would also have a share in this perfect life.

On the outside, Levi always wore a mask of indifference, but inwardly he was amused when at last the events started to unfold. As the highlight of the day, it was finally time for the doctor to make the announcement. And after it was out, it all went as he had expected.

"What?" Eren spoke up suddenly, the feeling of indignation apparent in his voice.

Even though the boy avoided conversation throughout dinner, now he sounded ready to speak his mind. Levi was prepared for that, but his expectations were crossed when Eren suddenly shut up. His outburst was followed by more pleasantries from the doctor, and another obvious lie from Mikasa.

After Eren had left the room with a lame excuse of having homework to do, Levi noticed Carla's worried expression. Based on what he had observed so far, he could conclude that Eren was probably a lot of trouble for his mother.

Levi was aware of the fact that he didn't make much attempt to appear friendly, either. That was not originally in his nature. In truth, he wasn't used to interacting with people, and especially not as family. That was a thing he still had to figure out.

After dinner, he offered to help cleaning up the table and all the rest, but Carla insisted that she would do the washing-up all by herself.

Instead, he ended up sitting on the couch in the living room, alone with Mikasa. Not wanting to invade the other's personal space, the two of them put as much distance between them as the three-seater couch made it possible.

"Any shows you like to watch?" the girl asked kindly, turning on the TV.

Levi could not discern whether she was feigning consideration or was really being kind towards him.

"No." he replied. "I don't usually watch TV."

He stole a sideways glance at her. She didn't seem to be put off or anything. Her features looked slightly oriental, and Levi found her rather beautiful, but only in a way one would consider a porcelain doll beautiful. Something about her manner seemed to be false.

"What grade are you in?" Mikasa asked conversationally, turning her dark eyes towards him.

"Third." Levi answered, and returned the question: "You?"

"First." Mikasa replied.

"And Eren?" Levi inquired, deciding to keep up the conversation.

"He's in first grade, too." Mikasa answered.

Levi raised a thin eyebrow at her. Mikasa appeared to be slightly flustered as he kept his gaze on her.

"We're not blood relatives." she finally admitted. "I was adopted, too."

"I guessed that much." Levi said.

He didn't intend it as a sarcastic remark – he was simply telling the truth. Still, Mikasa wasn't sure how to interpret his words when they were spoken in such a flat tone of voice.

"Yeah, people usually notice it right away." she chattered on, not quite sure why she was telling all this to him. "We don't look much alike, do we?"

"Actually, you do." – Levi said.

Mikasa looked at him with evident surprise in her eyes, but before he could elaborate on how he found them similar, Carla came in to talk to him.

"I'm really sorry, Levi." she began in a flustered voice. "We still have to clear out a room for your use, dear. For now, would you mind staying with Eren in his room? It's only until your room is ready."

"I don't mind." Levi reassured her. "Thank you."

Carla looked relieved. The question was, rather, whether Eren would terribly mind sharing his room with him. And Levi suspected he would.

"Mikasa, please show Levi the upstairs rooms." Carla said, and the girl did as she was told.

Levi was given a tour around the house, and finally, he was led to Eren's room. Mikasa stopped in front of the door, and turned towards him.

"Eren is a bit hot-headed." she began. "And he doesn't make friends easily."

'That might be something we have in common.' Levi thought.

"He might appear a bit… strange." Mikasa continued. "But he's a kind person."

Levi could tell that this time Mikasa was telling something she honestly believed to be true.

He noticed earlier at the dinner table that the two of them were really close. The simple glances they exchanged could communicate volumes. It was as if the two of them had their own small world, one which would be difficult for Levi to enter.

Mikasa knocked on the door, and without waiting for an answer, she opened it wide.

"Mikasa, I've told you to stop-" Eren began in an irritated voice, but when he noticed that Levi was with her, he shut up and only glared at his sister.

"Mom told me to show Levi the room he can stay in." Mikasa said.

"What?" Eren asked indignantly.

"She said you should share your room with Levi until we clear out a room for him." Mikasa told him, stepping into the room and inviting Levi in.

Eren stood in silent rage for a while, holding his sister's gaze until Mikasa decided to turn on her heels and leave, shutting the door with a loud bang behind her.

'Brats.' Levi thought dismissively.

He didn't expect a warm welcome, and he didn't really care about not receiving one from his new brother. He was convinced that in time both Mikasa and Eren would do whatever he wanted, since the two of them looked so easy for him to terrorize. Soon, both of them would bend to his will.

Levi found he was really looking forward to his new life with them.

_Too much sugar-coating on the surface always serves to hide something rotten underneath. At that time, I failed to realize what it really was…_


	3. Narrow World

**Notes:  
**This chapter was a real struggle for me and I feel like it turned out a patchwork, but finally, it's done. I hope you'll still like it.**  
**

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**Chapter 03**

**Narrow World**

_If only there was only you and me, then it would be a perfect world to live in._

Eren felt like he had lost the last safe place where he could escape from his otherwise miserable life. His mind couldn't comprehend how things suddenly turned out that way. His family life had been perfect with just Mikasa and him, yet their parents had to bring in this stranger to ruin everything. It was as if his last wall of defence had been breached, and all the monsters were coming in to feast on what remained of his once happy life.

Eren couldn't see Levi as anything else but a monster. He absolutely refused to accept him as a brother. He had no need for him in his life. Mikasa was enough. His only friend Armin was enough. He didn't want a brother, and he didn't want Levi. He hated just about everything from his cold gaze to the irritating, hollow ring of his voice, which carried no emotion whatsoever other than disdain.

Eren was ready to burst from all the helpless frustration he felt. He had to get up from his bed and walk around a bit before he went completely mad.

Suddenly, he heard a quick knock on his door, followed almost immediately by the click of the door handle as someone was entering the room.

"Mikasa, I've told you to stop-" he began angrily, turning towards the door.

He noticed that Mikasa brought Levi with her, and looked at his sister with intense displeasure.

"Mom told me to show Levi the room he can stay in." Mikasa said, and Eren thought:

'He definitely _can't_ stay in here!'

But loudly he only managed an indignant 'what?' before Mikasa continued relaying their mother's message:

"She said you should share your room with Levi until we clear out a room for him."

Eren could hardly hear her words from the blood rushing into his face. Mikasa answered his glare with a 'don't be so childish' expression on her face.

Levi couldn't see all their silent exchange, because he was standing some way behind Mikasa.

Eren gave her a stare that told 'no way', keeping his eyes steadily on her pair of black ones. Mikasa shot him a last deadly glance before turning on her heels and departing from the room, leaving him alone with Levi.

"So, this dump is what you call your room." Levi remarked dismissively.

His cold glance swept around the room, taking in the crumpled sheets on the bed, the heaps of clothing scattered everywhere, and the general chaos that characterized the otherwise quite spacious room.

Levi felt like Mikasa had led him to sleep in a pigsty, with the pig still in it. He didn't like the idea at all: sharing the room with an untidy teenage boy was out of the question for him. Something had to be done about it.

"I'm really sorry you don't like it." Eren said with a sarcastic undertone, hoping that Levi was displeased enough to decide to leave, but he had to be disappointed in his expectations when Levi replied:

"It'll be fine for me, for the time being." Levi said, kicking some of Eren's stuff under the bed to make room for his bag, which was the only belonging he had brought with him to his new home.

"I'll need clean bedding, though." Levi went on. "I can't sleep in _these_."

He hated the sweaty odour of adolescent boys, and to his delicate nose, the place reeked of the unpleasant smell. It reminded him of a phase in his life he would rather not remember…

Eren was struck speechless when he realized that this stranger was about to occupy _his_ bed.

"I see. You must like squirrels." Levi said, gathering up the stuff that littered Eren's bed and dumping them where there was still space on the floor left.

Before Eren could say anything in reply, his favourite plush squirrel – the one which Mikasa had given him for his birthday – was shoved into his face, along with his pillow and bedcover.

"I guess you'll need these. Good night." Levi said curtly, adding: "And don't forget to bring some clean bedding before you go to sleep somewhere other than this room."

Before Eren knew it, he found himself turned out from his own room, the door being shut in front of his face. Even though he was determined not to give up his room to a stranger, Levi had managed to defeat him in a battle of wills all too easily. Eren wasn't even given the opportunity to put up the least resistance.

Eren couldn't believe this was actually happening to him. He was still hoping strongly that it was just a bad dream, and he kept on telling himself that Levi wasn't real, only a monster from his nightmare.

He felt a desperate need to talk to someone. He knew he couldn't call Armin, since he left his cell phone in his room, which was now occupied by the nightmare demon. His only option was to talk to Mikasa, so he went straight to her room.

Mikasa didn't appear to be too glad to receive him, but still, she was willing enough to listen to his troubles.

"Seriously, Mikasa, don't you feel like something's awfully off?" Eren asked his sister.

They were sitting on Mikasa's bed, and the girl was trying to catch up on the homework she had missed doing because of her brother and his games.

"I mean, isn't he too old to be adopted?" Eren went on.

Mikasa threw him an annoyed glance. She finally gave up, shutting her book with an exasperated sigh. She realized that it would be impossible for her to do serious studying while Eren was in her room. For some reason unknown to her, he was clutching his plush squirrel, a pillow and a blanket.

"He isn't that old, really." Mikasa said. "He's in third grade, so that makes him only two years older than us. Legally, he's still a minor, so it's not that strange for our parents to adopt him."

However, this information was still insufficient to calm Eren down.

"Remember that movie?" he resumed. "The one in which a family adopts a nice little girl, who eventually turns out to be a serial killer psychopath?"

Eren's face looked dead serious as he asked this from her.

"Aren't you a bit paranoid?" Mikasa told him. "Is this how you were really like when your parents brought _me_ home?"

"No." Eren replied firmly. "That was something completely different."

He never resented his parents for adopting Mikasa. He soon found that it was good to have someone his own age he could play with. Of course, he had Armin for as long as he could remember, but it was different to share a home with someone as brother and sister. Mikasa wasn't like the other girls: they could do a lot of things together and talk about almost anything. He could hardly imagine ever having the same kind of relationship with Levi. The mere idea made his stomach turn.

"I think Levi is all right, once you try to get to know him." Mikasa said at last.

Eren eyed her suspiciously.

"So you've already made friends with him, right?" he inquired.

"We only talked a bit." Mikasa admitted.

Eren felt like he was stabbed in the back. He didn't expect Mikasa to betray him so easily.

"You should try talking to him, too." Mikasa advised. "I'm sure that's what Armin would say if you asked him."

"Believe me, I've tried." Eren lied. "And I still think he's an asshole."

Mikasa was getting irritated by Eren's stubbornness. She wanted to finish her homework and go to bed. School was more important to her at the moment than arguing about Levi.

"I don't understand." Eren resumed. "Why did Father bring him here? And without giving us a proper explanation?"

Mikasa had no idea either, but so far she wasn't really bothered by such questions. She was ready to accept whatever their parents decided, even if it meant acting like a complete stranger was her brother.

"What if he's an illegitimate child, only Father had been hiding him from us all this time?" Eren went on with his theories.

Mikasa was taken aback by such a wild idea.

"Eren, that's going way too far." she said sternly. "How can you even assume that Father would do such a thing?"

By then, Mikasa had really had enough.

"Go back to your room and sleep." she told him tiredly. "Remember, we have school tomorrow."

"Like hell would I go back there!" Eren said. "I'm not sharing my room with him!"

Mikasa blinked at him confusedly.

"Then how come you're the one out here and not him?" she pointed out to him. "Did he throw you out or something?"

Eren looked sullen, unwilling to reply. He didn't want to admit his shameful defeat.

"Sorry, but I'm not sharing, either." Mikasa announced. "You're being noisy, and I'm still planning to study a bit before going to bed."

"Fine." Eren retorted, standing up. "Who'd want to share with you, anyway? You'd kill me in your sleep. I'm going down to the basement. Good night."

Mikasa couldn't believe that her 15-year-old brother could act so childishly. But she decided she wouldn't stop him. That was a thing he had to deal with by himself, without her to help him.

"By the way..." Eren said, turning back from the doorway. "Princess Levi wants some clean sheets. Do something about it, since you two are already friends."

Eren walked out of the room, greatly disappointed with his sister. He went down the stairs to the basement, which served as washroom and storeroom.

His old bed was still kept there in a corner. He even found Mikasa's old scarf, still tucked away under the mattress. They could never get the bloodstain out of it, and it was badly torn, so she didn't wear it anymore. Still, the two of them kept it as a reminder of the day when their bond was forged.

He lay down on the bed, without even bothering to change his clothes. He pulled the blanket over his face and fell asleep almost immediately.

He had the most terrible nightmare, in which he was fighting huge, invisible monsters. Mikasa was with him, and strangely, Levi was there, too. It was even more perplexing for him to find that Levi was fighting on their side, and not with the monsters. Both Mikasa and Levi appeared so small to him he felt like he could crush them easily if he wanted to. He suddenly realized that _he_ was the monster, and the two of them looked at him with fierce eyes, blades ready to slash him to pieces…

"Hey, Eren." he heard a voice calling, and someone was shaking him by the shoulder. "We're going to be late."

"Mikasa, please tell me it was just a bad dream…" Eren said, rolling over to the other side, facing the wall.

"If you mean Levi, I hate to break it to you but he's real. He's gone shopping with Mom now, since he only starts school next week. There's still a lot of paperwork to be done, I guess." Mikasa said, well-informed about the matters concerning their new brother.

Eren gave a pained grunt.

"I can't believe you really came down here to sleep…" Mikasa said disapprovingly, and her tone reminded Eren of his mother.

He got out of bed with great difficulty, and when Mikasa realized that he was sleeping in his uniform, she gave him a particularly angry stare. Mikasa looked really scary when angered, which she also had in common with his mother. Eren quickly went to tidy himself up as best as he could.

"Really, Eren, you should put in a bit more effort." Mikasa said when he finally came out of the bathroom, having changed into a clean shirt and undergarments. "You'll never catch a girlfriend like that."

Mikasa's tone was joking as she said this, smoothing out some stray hair on Eren's head. He let Mikasa do his necktie for him, which was part of their school uniform, but he rarely wore it, even though Mikasa said it went well with his green eyes.

"I don't care about girlfriends as long as I have a sister who loves me…" Eren said truthfully.

He noticed that Mikasa blushed slightly at his words.

"…even if I look like shit." he added, which quite ruined the mood.

Mikasa pushed him out of the front door, and they set out for school.

"Speaking about girlfriends…" Eren began as they walked. "How's your horse-faced admirer?"

It had been a long time since he last heard about the guy Mikasa almost dated back in their previous high school.

"I doubt he thinks I'm worthy of his attention anymore." Mikasa said, looking at the crest on her uniform, which had a pair of bright and dark wings on it.

Both of them went to Liberty High now, which was only the third best school around, but it was still good enough to have its own fancy uniform. Eren quite liked it, except for the tie.

He hated all the frills on their previous school's uniform, although he had to admit that he thought Mikasa looked really beautiful and cute in hers, and it was a shame he wouldn't see her wearing that uniform again.

"Are you sure you don't regret your decision?" Eren asked carefully. "You could've stayed there, you know…"

"I don't miss it at all." Mikasa said with a determined expression. "And I don't miss Jean the least. He was a stuck-up."

"And a jerk." Eren added, satisfied that Mikasa admitted it at last.

Both of them started laughing at the same time. Eren found that Mikasa's smile always helped him forget all the bad things. Even if he was to forget everything else that ever happened to him in his life, only the memories they shared would never be erased from his mind. Even if it was a small world of two, he was happy within those narrow confines. He made a vow that he would never let anyone take it away from him.

_In a perfect world, there's only place for two people…_

* * *

**End Notes:**  
The next two chapters are roughly based on the tribunal episode (Chapter 04 is coming really soon). I'm going to keep on borrowing various scenes and stuff from the anime/manga, so there might be some spoilers, but I'm trying not to make them too obvious.


	4. Thrice the Trouble

**Notes:  
**This chapter contains some violence and abusive language.  
I originally gave this story M rating out of precaution. Just to stay on the safe side, in case things suddenly turn really "ugly" or anything. (And I suspect they will, the way things are going now...)

* * *

**Chapter 04**

**Thrice the Trouble**

_When I was little, I remember that my grandfather used to tell me fairy tales. I loved to listen to them, but I found some of them awfully terrifying. There was a tale about a terrible ogress and her three children, who always behaved badly when the ogress left them on their own. One day, the children did something so bad that it deserved a particularly nasty punishment. I can't recall what happened to them in the end._

Armin went up to the front door of his best friend's house, and rang the doorbell. He thought Eren would be home, but instead the door was opened by a complete stranger.

"Hello." he said rather uncertainly. "Um, is Eren home?"

"No." the stranger replied in a cold voice.

He looked older than Armin, but was still a bit shorter than him. Armin found his grey eyes very intimidating.

He had half a mind to turn and leave when the door was opened wide, and he was invited in.

Armin stepped inside cautiously, not suspecting that he was entering into a monster's nest…

Even though he hated school, Eren found he wasn't really looking forward to going home, either, since he knew that Levi was there. He would rather endure his classes, including extracurricular ones, than going anywhere near him.

On second thought, however, he found he didn't really want to stay in school after classes. His high school only had sports clubs, and he hated sports, especially team sports and aggressive ones.

Mikasa, on the other hand, liked to work out, but the school's gym was too small for her, so she usually went out to the local sports centre at least twice a week. A couple of times, she tried to bring Eren along, but he wasn't tempted by the prospect of working out in the company of a whole lot of other people.

Since Mikasa insisted on carrying out her weekly training, Eren had to go home alone. He planned to call Armin over, but that turned out to be unnecessary. When he arrived home, he found that his best friend was already there.

Armin seemed to be having a conversation with Levi in the kitchen. Levi was wearing an apron, apparently preparing food for dinner.

For a moment, Eren stood rooted to the spot, unable to believe his eyes: it was a strange sight to see Armin chattering so cheerfully to a complete stranger, while Levi was busy making dinner like a good mother. But Eren wasn't deceived: he could still see the monster behind the mask.

Armin soon noticed Eren's arrival, greeting him with a bright smile:

"Hi, Eren! Levi and I were talking about you just now."

Eren shot a killer glance towards Levi's direction, but Levi was turning his back on him, stirring something in a large pot, which looked ominous enough for Eren's suspicious eyes.

"Armin, what are you doing here?" he said, wishing Armin would have just stayed at home instead of saying unnecessary things about him to a stranger.

Armin was looking back at him with his clear blue eyes, his expression puzzled.

"I was helping Levi with dinner. I thought you'd be back soon, so…" he said, appearing a bit upset about Eren's question.

Eren sat down at the table with a tired sigh.

'Maybe it's good that Armin's here.' he thought. 'At least I don't have to be alone with _him_.'

"Wash your dirty hands before you even consider touching anything." Levi said to him in a deadly voice. "And take off your shoes, you're bringing in all the mud."

Eren felt the colour rising into his cheeks.

"You're not my mother, you're just-"

"No, I'm not." Levi said coldly, waving a stirring spoon threateningly in his direction. "I'm your big brother, and you should do as I say."

"You're not even my-"

"Isn't it nice, Eren…?" Armin cut in. "…Having a brother and a sister? I always wished I had one…"

Eren gritted his teeth as Armin went on chattering. He tried really hard to keep his emotions under control before he got himself into trouble.

In the meantime, he wanted to punch Levi in the face really badly. So much that for a moment he even considered joining Mikasa the next time she went to the gym, just to build up some strength to be able to knock out one or two of his teeth.

"Mom told me they'd be late, so we should eat dinner without them." Levi said.

Eren didn't like the way Levi called _his_ mother 'Mom'. He was reminded that it was his father's day off, when his parents usually went out to dine together.

"Armin, you're staying for dinner, right?" Levi asked while laying the table.

It never even crossed Eren's mind to help him. He was still just standing around, not wanting to leave Armin alone with Levi. It seemed impossible to remove the boy from the kitchen.

"Well, thank you for the invitation!" Armin said brightly.

Eren made an irritated sound. The other thing he didn't like was the way Levi acted like he owned the place, even though he had only been living with them for a couple of days.

He also found it strange how smoothly the adoption went. He thought it would take months or even a year to go through the whole legal procedure. He suspected it was all arranged beforehand, only they didn't say a word about it to him or Mikasa.

Eren realized that Levi was staring at him with a questioning look.

"What?" he asked rather rudely.

"Do you know when Mikasa will be home?" Levi repeated his earlier question.

"I have no idea." Eren replied offhandedly.

Nevertheless, Levi laid the table for four people, arranging the cutlery carefully around the plates.

Eren had half a mind to say he wasn't hungry, but his stomach told otherwise.

"Wash your hands." Levi ordered once again, folding the apron neatly and putting it away. "You can't sit to table like that."

"Fucking clean-freak." Eren said in reply.

"Eren!" Armin exclaimed in alarm. "That's no way to talk to your brother!"

"Shut up, Armin." Eren snapped at him.

"And that's no way to talk to your friend." Levi warned in an even voice.

Eren was irritated to no end by Levi's piercing grey eyes and the condescending look he gave him, like he was some worthless piece of trash.

"Get out!" Eren shouted at him, unable to restrain himself anymore. "You don't belong here!"

"No." Levi replied coolly. "_You're_ the one not belonging anywhere, you useless, shitty brat."

Eren wasn't thinking anymore: his sole objective now was to beat Levi to a pulp. He lunged at him, preparing to land a hit, but Levi evaded his fist, and Eren received a knee in his stomach instead. Eren could hear Armin's horrified shriek. He attempted another attack, but Levi was quicker than him, and managed to restrain Eren's arm by painfully twisting it behind his back.

"Eren, stop it!" he heard Armin's pleading voice, but he didn't care to listen to his words.

He struggled against Levi's arm, which was now coiled around him and was stronger than Eren had expected. As a last resort, he bit down hard on Levi's arm, where the shirt sleeve was rolled up. It tasted like disinfectant.

'He must be bathing in the stuff.' the thought crossed his mind, and he spat in disgust.

Levi released him immediately, but at the same time Eren received a punch in the ribs. Before he could even recover, his feet were swept from under him, and soon he found himself on his back, pinned to the floor.

Armin was in a state of panic, and didn't know what to do. He was relieved when Mikasa finally arrived.

"Mikasa, hurry! Do something!" he rushed to the girl for help. "They just won't listen to me…"

His relief, however, was soon replaced by more panic when he saw Mikasa's expression change as she took in the scene. Armin recognized that look: it meant death to whoever tried to hurt her brother.

"Mikasa, no!" Armin screamed, making a futile attempt at keeping her back.

Mikasa went straight for Levi, dragging him off of Eren and landing an unexpected punch on his left cheek.

"Try to hurt Eren, you fucking shortie, and I'm gonna kill you!" Mikasa threatened, seizing the front of Levi's shirt.

"Stop it, guys! Someone's going to get hurt!" Armin shouted at the top of his small voice, but no one was really paying attention to him.

He watched in helpless dismay as a battle royal was about to unfold in front of his eyes.

Eren was soon on his feet again.

"Stay out of it, Mikasa! This kill's mine!" he said in a fierce voice, pushing the girl roughly out of his way and going for Levi again.

Mikasa's back hit the kitchen counter, her arm searching for support sweeping a tray of drying chinaware from the counter. Pieces of broken china flew everywhere.

Hearing the clatter of breaking cups and saucers, even Eren gave up the fight. Armin was about to heave a relieved sigh, until he noticed Eren's furious expression turning into a horrified one.

"Holy shit!" he said in a low, hoarse voice. "That was Mom's favourite tea set… She's gonna kill us!"

Before the others could move to do something, Eren was on his knees, attempting to gather up the broken pieces into his hands.

"Not with your hands, you stupid brat! Bring something to sweep it up with!" Levi ordered, and Armin was about to hurry off and fetch a broom when he realized that Eren was bleeding rather badly.

Eren kept on staring at his blood-stained hands as if mesmerized, his expression contorting into something that looked like a mad grin.

"Eren!" Mikasa exclaimed in a voice full of worry.

She hurried to Eren's side, but by then Levi was already trying to drag Eren to his feet. Eren struggled, smearing blood all over the front of Levi's so perfectly white shirt.

"Stop this shit!" Levi said, slapping Eren once across the face.

Before Mikasa could react to the renewed violence against her brother, Armin returned with a broom, looking even more agitated than before.

"Your parents are here! They've just arrived!" he reported, clutching the broom nervously.

"Oh, we are so dead…" Mikasa said faintly, the panic spreading to her, too.

"Calm down, everyone." Levi said in a clear, commanding voice. "Eren, you, too."

Eren gave up struggling. He already felt dead. He knew that the responsibility for all this would be put on him alone.

"Armin, sweep that mess up! Mikasa, help me with Eren!" Levi gave the orders, and the two of them obeyed without hesitation.

The situation was really bad, and it was only a matter of minutes until their parents would come inside and see what a horrible mess they made while they were away. At least, they had to make it appear less bad than it actually was, and quick.

With the help of Mikasa, Levi managed to get Eren to wash the blood off of his hands.

"What do you mean you don't know where you keep them?" Levi said angrily to Mikasa, after the girl failed to bring him the bandages he requested. "You're a doctor's daughter, for fuck's sake."

At that moment, Mikasa wasn't in such a state of mind to be greatly bothered by Levi's harsh tone.

In the end, Levi had to rip a piece off from the end of his shirt to use as makeshift bandage. Thankfully, the fabric was worn enough from too much washing to tear easily.

"I hope at least you know how to do this properly." Levi said, leaving one hand to Mikasa while bandaging Eren's other hand.

They were tying the ends when the front door opened, and soon they could hear the voices of their parents.

Levi quickly touched a piece of damp cloth to one of Mikasa's cheeks. It came away with a faint pink tint on it.

Mikasa hadn't even noticed that she was injured. Where she had hit Levi earlier, there was a nasty bruise, which was impossible to disguise. It stood out clearly on his pale face. Eren's face also appeared to be quite swollen. Mikasa felt utterly devastated.

"Good evening, Mr and Mrs Jäger." they heard Armin's nervous voice.

Mikasa straightened herself, making a last effort to make Eren appear as respectable as their present situation allowed. If this was the end for them now, she wanted at least to go with dignity.

"Hello, Armin." Carla said kindly. "Where are the others?"

Armin was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, blocking the three of them from view. He was hiding the broom quite conspicuously behind his back.

"I'll take responsibility." Levi said in a low voice. "But I need your cooperation."

Eren wanted to argue, but Mikasa elbowed him in the side to shut him up.

Eventually, Armin had to move out of the way, revealing Carla her children. Carla gave a horrified shriek as she saw the state they were in. Slowly, her eyes took in the surrounding chaos as well: the upset chairs and the broken pieces of china that Armin had missed to clean up. Her shocked gaze then returned to her children.

The three of them were standing in a line, speechless. Mikasa looked like a frightened kitten, Eren had a sullen expression, while Levi was wearing his usual poker face.

"Well, isn't it a bit late for Halloween?" the doctor said rather jovially, coming closer to take a look at them. "You gave your mother quite a fright here."

"That's not the time to be making jokes, darling." Carla said in a scolding voice. "I don't find it funny at all."

Levi was about to step forward, but changed his mind in the last moment. Carla seemed to be too intimidating even for him.

"Look at all this! Look at _them_!" she gestured around the room. "What-?"

"I think it's time for me to leave now…" Armin said in a small, timid voice, trying to edge his way out towards the front hall.

But before he could escape being involved in the unfolding family drama, Carla grabbed him firmly on the shoulder, and said:

"No, Armin. You can't leave. Not until I've heard what happened here."

Mikasa and Eren exchanged frightened glances. Levi raised a questioning eyebrow at them, but they still refused to let him in on their secret way of communication.

"To the living room. Now." Carla ordered in a way that allowed for absolutely no protest.

Mikasa and Eren started to walk towards the living room as if they were heading towards the execution ground. Levi followed them, wondering what was about to happen. From the way they seemed to panic over the broken tea set, he guessed that the two of them was expecting some really bad punishment. He looked at Armin, whose face was deadly white, as if he was ready to faint.

_That day, I remembered the fate of the three naughty children from my grandfather's tale. One by one, they were devoured by the ogress…_

* * *

**End Notes:**  
I finished a draft for the next chapter, but since the holidays are coming, I think I won't be able to update on this story for a while. In the meantime, I'll probably be drafting new chapters, but it takes me a whole day to finish  
a short chapter like this... :( Thank you for your comments on this story, I really appreciate them. Nice holidays to you all! :)


	5. Pride

**Notes:  
**Suddenly, my head is full of various ideas about what to write into this story. This is my first attempt at writing a full story, and it's a bit of an experiment for me. I'm beginning to like the idea of Eren hating Levi so much. As much as I ship them, I didn't want it to start out as a straightforward EreRi fic, so I migth have to disappoint those who had such expectations. But probably it'll develop into that direction eventually, although I expect it to be a rather slow process... In the meantime, my laptop is dying, so I can't work properly on it, and it makes me mad. :(**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 05**

**Pride**

_If you manage to find the right way to hurt one's pride, it can soon prove to be as fragile as porcelain, shattering to a hundred sharp pieces. Picking up the shards of an injured pride can be hurtful, and even though swallowing your pride is considered to be a noble act, those sharp pieces would surely make your throat bleed._

The three-seater couch appeared to be uncomfortably small for the three of them and Armin, who was squeezed to the edge, sitting on the armrest.

It was all really embarrassing. The last time Mikasa and Eren had been seriously reprimanded was when they were twelve. Eren couldn't really recall what they had done at that time. The only thing he remembered was that it resulted in a good, sound beating from their mother. Eren suspected that he had received most of Mikasa's share, too.

They both wondered what the punishment would be this time. Would they be spanked again? In front of Levi? Would he receive a spanking, too? It was so embarrassing they felt they wanted to be dead instead.

Their father was sitting some distance away in his comfortable armchair. The look in his eyes remained kind, a slightly amused smile playing on his lips as he looked upon his children.

Their mother, however, was in a state as far from his serene calmness as it was humanly possible. It was evident that she would be the one leading the interrogation.

"I want an explanation!" she demanded, directing her furious gaze at her biological son. "Eren!"

Hearing his name being called so suddenly and strictly, Eren jumped in his seat between Mikasa and Levi. He had already expected that he would be the first one to blame. He felt like he was always the culprit in his mother's eyes. However, he was surprised when he heard Levi's voice answering:

"It was me. I started it." he said evenly.

Carla looked at him with evident disbelief in her eyes.

"I said something to Eren that I probably shouldn't have…" Levi continued, but before he could utter any word of apology, Carla cut him in indignantly:

"And you did _that_ to him?" she asked Eren accusingly, indicating Levi's bruised face.

It was already changing colour to a nasty greenish purple, and it really stood out pretty badly on Levi's pale face.

"I can't imagine him ever saying anything to deserve _that_!" she said with utmost indignation.

"_I_ did that." Mikasa admitted, claiming their mother's attention.

Carla shot her a questioning glance, which also told that she was utterly shocked that her daughter would do something like that to Levi.

"I thought he was killing Eren, but it was all a misunderstanding." Mikasa went on before she could interrupt her. "I'm really sorry, Levi."

She turned towards Levi, who accepted the apology, even though he suspected it was a fake one.

Carla looked at them for a moment in speechless surprise before resuming the interrogation. There still remained a lot of things to be explained.

"And what about your face? And your hands?" she asked Mikasa and Eren in turn before returning her attention to Levi. "What happened to your shirt?"

"It was the broken china." Levi replied for them. "I'm really sorry about that…"

But before he could offer to replace it, Carla cut him in once again:

"Who cares about some broken crockery now! Look at you! Look at all the blood!" she said to Levi.

She seemed ready to faint from worry. Eren was disgusted by the way his mother seemed to care so much more about a complete stranger than her own son.

"That's not my blood." Levi said, examining his completely ruined shirt. "It's Eren's."

Not that this information helped much in calming Carla down. She was ready to burst with motherly worry over her children's well-being. Noticing that, Levi quickly went on:

"But we treated his injury as best as we could."

"And you did a fine job there, as far as I can tell." their father remarked appreciatively, coming closer to examine Eren's bandaged hands.

Mikasa believed she did a poor job, so she was relieved to hear her father say that.

"Don't flatter them too much, darling." Carla scolded her husband, the strict expression returning to her features. "Levi might be innocent, but these two were sure up to something bad."

'Innocent?' Eren thought indignantly. 'He's about as innocent as the devil himself!'

He felt that his mother was staring at him accusingly. He was the only one who failed to say even a word during the whole procedure. Carla thought it was high time he had finally talked and contributed his share in the events.

"It was an ordinary kitchen accident." Levi spoke up again, hoping he could finally put an end to the whole tedious procedure. "True, it all started out as a minor fight between Eren and I over some petty sh-"

Carla spoke again, and he couldn't finish his explanation. Levi was getting really pissed off. He wasn't used to people interrupting him all the time, and especially not consecutively during a single conversation. There was only one person who could do that, but it was a long time ago…

He had to admit to himself that Carla was a tough one. He began to understand why her children seemed to be quivering in fear, as if they were afraid she would bite their heads off any moment.

"Eren, I want to hear from you what happened." Carla said impatiently. "Or should I ask Armin instead, since you refuse to talk?"

Armin jumped at hearing his name so unexpectedly. All the while, he was sitting in silence, trying to appear small and insignificant, but suddenly the attention was turned to his direction, and he began to feel even more nervous than he had already been.

He had realized earlier that Levi was trying his best against Carla to cover up for Mikasa and Eren, and he could see that Mikasa was ready to play along with him, even making the first step towards reconciliation. However, he wasn't quite sure about Eren. He didn't seem too eager to cooperate.

As for Armin himself, he wasn't glad to sell out his best friends, so he would rather have not said a word about what really had happened there, even though he had witnessed the events first-hand. He had to admit to himself that as far as he could see, it was Eren's hot-headedness again that brought about the whole trouble.

On the other hand, Levi's reply to Eren's rude words was also fuel to the fire, and once Eren burst, there was no stopping him. That had been the usual way with his best friend for as long as Armin knew him. He heard rumours that it was the reason why Eren got expelled from the elite high school.

Armin could observe that Levi was most of the time only trying to restrain Eren after he had attacked him. He was only hitting Eren when it was necessary, and all the while he was paying careful attention to avoid hitting his face too badly. Levi also made no attempt whatsoever at fighting Mikasa back when she went for him. It was Eren who pushed her away so forcefully, causing the accident with the china set, as well as their own injuries.

In conclusion, Armin found that it was indeed Eren who could be held responsible for just about everything that happened, but he didn't want to say it out loud. It was like betraying his best friend, and Armin couldn't do that.

"It all happened as Levi explained." Armin said at length in a timid voice.

To his relief, the doctor soon spoke up with his usual kind tone:

"Boys are like that, Carla." he said soothingly. "They need to have a good fight once in a while. Right, Eren?"

Eren remained in sullen silence. His father was not helping his case at all. Had it never even once crossed their minds that maybe – just maybe – it was Levi at fault instead of him? Why did they have to treat Levi like he was some untouchable saint?

He firmly believed that Levi deserved that punch in the face for acting so high and mighty, even though he was a no-one, a stranger. Eren was secretly proud of Mikasa for achieving the one thing he couldn't manage to do: to give that punch to Levi he so rightfully deserved.

"I hate to fight." Levi remarked in a low voice. "Too much trouble."

He was thinking about all the resulting mess and blood, and rolling around on the floor, the cleanliness of which was rather questionable. The mere thought of doing that made him shiver.

"Youngsters are usually full of energy." their father resumed. "Nevertheless, I think it'd be better to take up doing some regular exercise, just to make good use of all that youthful energy, my son. Your sister goes training every week, right?"

Mikasa gave him a nod in reply.

"Maybe you should join her once in a while." their father advised. "I'm sure it'd do you and everyone else good."

Eren was quite convinced of the opposite, but he didn't dare talking back to his father.

"Levi, what do you like doing?" the doctor finally turned his attention to Levi.

"Cleaning." came the brief, rather surprising reply.

'How lame…' Eren thought, not like he had anything particular he liked to do beside playing his games and daydreaming.

"Good." their father said approvingly. "That'd be a lot of help to your mother. Right, Carla?"

Carla's stern features seemed to soften a bit.

"My suggestion would be the following." their father said, indicating that he was about to wrap things up at last. "Why don't you all three go and visit that wonderful sports centre, the one the city was kind enough to build for young people like you. It would be such a waste never to try it, boys."

His voice was warm and encouraging. Mikasa couldn't believe they were let off the hook so easily.

On the other hand, both Eren and Levi felt like it was the worst punishment they had ever received. Eren hated the idea of going to a place with a lot of people there, and above all, he absolutely loathed having to spend time with Levi.

Likewise, Levi wasn't too keen on hanging out with the brats either, and especially not in a gym that swarmed with sweaty bodies. He hoped at least the sports centre was decent enough to have a pool. He quite liked the smell of chlorine in the water. He found it soothing to his nerves, which were at the moment stretched tight, ready to snap.

The insolent brat had the cheek to attempt an attack on him, putting on a miserable fight, which was insult in itself. Levi thought it was a victory too easily earned, until he was hit unexpectedly right on the face, and by a mere girl, on top of that.

And when Levi began to think that it was all over, Eren still managed to astonish him with his stupidity, trying to gather up the sharp pieces and cutting his hands in the process. Levi would make him pay for his ruined shirt, that was for sure. Both him, and his deceitful sister.

Levi was quite furious himself, but of course he didn't let any of his frustration show outwardly.

"How about that, Carla?" the doctor said, turning to his wife, who was still fuming. "I say, let's just leave them for a while, to think about their actions by themselves. I believe we should let Armin go, too. His family must be waiting for him at home."

Armin heaved a relieved sigh, thankful for the doctor and really glad about the prospect of being released soon. As much as he liked staying at the Jägers' house, Eren's mother was just too scary when angered, and then the only thing he could think of was fleeing to his own home as fast as he could.

Carla grudgingly gave her consent, on one condition:

"You may go, but not until I heard an apology from you, Eren." she insisted. "All the others said sorry, except for you."

Eren gritted his teeth.

"I'm sorry, Mom…" he said in a rather hoarse voice, then added, just to be clear: "…for the broken tea set."

As expected, Carla didn't seem to be satisfied just by that.

"And I'm really sorry for pushing you, Mikasa." Eren added, turning towards his sister.

Mikasa gave him a glance that told him she didn't really mind. After that, a heavy silence followed. Carla was still training her expectant gaze on her son.

Eren knew well enough what his mother really wanted to hear from him, but he was unwilling to say it. He absolutely refused to admit that it was all his fault, and he would most certainly not give her mother what she expected him to say.

"You still owe Levi an apology." his mother insisted.

No. He would never apologize to Levi.

"Apologize to Levi. Now." Carla said in a tone of voice that could freeze one's blood in an instant.

'Scares the shit out of me.' Levi thought of her, getting really irritated by the prolonged procedure.

While they were wasting time sitting there, dinner was getting cold, and he hated to eat re-heated food. It always had a strange taste for him.

'Hurry up and say something, you shitty brat.' he urged Eren inwardly, not really believing that the telepathy which seemed to work so perfectly between Eren and Mikasa would work out between the two of them, too. 'I don't give a fuck about your half-assed apology, just say something already.'

He shifted slightly in his seat, giving Eren an almost imperceptible poke with his foot as he did so.

Eren was so much on edge that he was sensitive even to the slightest touch, and he was particularly careful not to make contact with Levi in any way while they were sitting squeezed up on the couch.

To Levi's infinite relief, it did the trick. He could see Eren's face gradually changing colour to an even brighter shade of red than before. Levi wondered whether all those stupid full-of-pride teenage-boy emotions could really make someone erupt. Thankfully for him, he never had such feelings he couldn't keep under control.

"No." Eren said almost inaudibly.

"What was that?" his mother demanded angrily.

Eren had ran it through his mind over and over again, and found it was a thing impossible for him to do. After all, he didn't feel the least sorry about what he had done. He only had regrets about failing to carry it out properly and having to rely on Mikasa again to take care of it for him.

"I'm not sorry at all." he claimed with great determination, his voice rising in volume. "So why should I apologize for something I don't even regret? It'd be like lying, right?"

"Eren!" his mother said warningly.

"I won't lie!" Eren snapped back at her.

Mikasa jumped in surprised alarm. She had never heard Eren speaking to his mother in such a tone.

"I hate Levi, and that's the truth!" Eren burst out in a shout. "I hate him so much I wish he'd just disappear. He's a fucking stuck-up, a fucking, annoying clean-freak…"

Levi bore the torrent of insults with great composure. Inwardly, he was rather amused by Eren's poor vocabulary when it came to insulting people.

Carla gaped like a fish, listening speechless to Eren's outburst for a while. Levi noticed how much mother and son looked alike when they were ready to burst from anger.

"I hate him so much I could kill him with my own two ha-"

Eren was finally shut up by a mighty slap from Carla across the face.

"How could you say that of your brother?" she asked, looking at Eren with such disgust in her eyes that made Eren feel like she was looking at a monster instead of her own child.

"He's not my brother." Eren replied sullenly.

"Go to your room. To the basement." Carla ordered. "And you won't get any dinner."

'Good.' Eren thought to himself, finding he felt relieved in spite of the slap, which would burn his cheek for a good while. 'Levi probably poisoned it, anyway. I hope he chokes on it and dies.'

He stood up to go, avoiding having to look at Levi. He caught Mikasa's worried gaze, and sent her a look that told 'I'll be fine' before leaving the room.

Even though his body ached, ready to fall apart, at least he came away with his pride still intact.

_I was more prepared to accept his hatred than his sister's empty words of apology. Even in a situation which required putting aside his pride, he chose to remain honest to his own feelings. I soon found that I admired him for his strong will, but it also had me wondering how much it would take to break him…_

* * *

**End Notes:**  
So, how do you like this Carla? She's like a real monstrous mother in this one. I really loved her in SnK, and I feel so sorry about her... T-T She really deserved more time with her children.

Next chapter is coming soon...


	6. Connecting Scars

**Notes:  
**I would like to thank those of you who've read this story so far, and especially those who continue reading from now on. :)

* * *

**Chapter 06**

**Connecting Scars**

_We were stitched up like a pair of torn ragdolls. We both knew that those marks would remain visible for the rest of our lives. But no matter what people said, we wore them proudly. Those scars reminded us that we were still alive. They were proof that we were connected._

Eren did not expect any night-time visitors to his basement room. From that day on, it was officially decided that he would live the rest of his life down there, while the hateful monster occupied the room that once belonged to him.

He sat on his bed, which he found rather uncomfortable to sleep in. He had grown a lot since the last time he used it, and it was also too narrow for him. He tossed and turned a lot in his sleep, and almost found himself a couple of times rolling down on the floor.

He was rather surprised and equally annoyed when he heard the sound of light footsteps coming down to the basement. And it made him downright furious when he learned whom they belonged to.

Levi came in with a medical kit in his hands.

"Shut up unless you want to be in any more trouble." he said before Eren could even open his mouth.

It was late night, and their parents were probably sleeping.

Eren was already annoyed to such a degree that his head felt dizzy, and he was almost beyond caring anymore. All he wanted to do was to go to bed. He felt dead tired, but still, he couldn't fall asleep.

He couldn't even bring himself to protest when Levi seated himself beside him, putting the medical kit on his bed. The faint scent of soap coming from him assaulted Eren's nose.

"Take a look at what you've done." Levi said, rolling up a sleeve to reveal his injury.

Eren noticed that Levi was wearing a brand-new looking shirt, this time a dark one.

"You'd almost think it was a mad dog." Levi said, showing Eren the bite mark on his arm.

"Go complain to Mom." Eren said tiredly. "She'd surely be more understanding of your troubles."

"I was trying my damnest to save your sorry asses back there." Levi said coldly. "I think I deserve some respect."

Eren gave a loud, indignant snort.

"And besides, you screwed it up for yourself." Levi continued.

"I was only telling the truth." Eren replied firmly.

"Right." Levi said scornfully. "That was quite a confession. But I'm fine with that."

It was almost appreciative the way he said that.

"Hate me as much as you like, I don't give a shit about your feelings." Levi said, opening up the medical kit and preparing some proper bandages.

Eren didn't like at all the way things were going. He wasn't in the mood to be playing doctor and patient, and especially not with Levi. He wondered what Mikasa was doing at a time like this, expecting her to come and check on him rather than this stranger.

"Give me your hand." Levi commanded.

"I won't. Get lost." Eren said in reply.

Levi raised a thin eyebrow at him.

"Do you want me to go and complain to Mom, then? I'm sure she'd be understanding." Levi repeated Eren's earlier words in an even voice, which still held a lot of meaning.

Eren glared at him, speechless.

"Don't try to get into any deeper shit than you're already in, brat." Levi said with a condescending look, taking one of Eren's hands.

"What are you doing?" Eren asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Practicing." Levi replied, untying Eren's makeshift bandage.

"For what?" Eren asked.

"For treating such annoying, helpless pieces of shit as yourself." Levi said. "Now shut up and don't move while I'm doing this."

He brought a piece of dampened gauze to Eren's wounds, and the boy hissed, surprised at the stinging sensation on his injured hand.

"What the hell's that?" he cried out.

"Even though your father's a doctor, you're obviously unaware of the necessity of disinfection." Levi said, exasperated. "Even my shirts are not perfectly sterile, not to mention your filthy hands. These injuries can get pretty ugly if they're left untreated."

He scrutinized Eren's hands with critical eyes.

"Ever heard of such a thing as a nail brush?" Levi inquired. "You have so much dirt under your nails. Once you manage to get it all out, you could even fill a pot and plant flowers in it. Gross."

"I don't care." Eren replied. "You're an annoying prick."

Levi decided to let the remark go for this once. It was also a practice in patience for him. He carefully wrapped the bandage around Eren's palm and fingers, finding the task rather tedious.

Eren was slightly dazed by the scent of the disinfectant. He hated the smell. It always reminded him of hospitals, and even though his father was a doctor, Eren didn't plan to follow in his footsteps.

"Open your mouth." Levi said suddenly, putting on a medical glove.

"What?" Eren protested.

"Open your damn mouth." Levi repeated, losing patience. "I want to check for any loose teeth."

"Why would I have one?" Eren asked, utterly puzzled.

"Because that was a mighty powerful slap you received from Mom. Your face is all swollen, too." Levi pointed it out.

'That might be because _you_ slapped me quite hard, you fucking bastard!' Eren thought while Levi forced his mouth open and began examining his teeth.

Eren found the look of utter disgust on his face rather satisfying.

"Are we done now?" Eren asked when Levi finally withdrew from his mouth.

"Not yet." Levi said in a voice that sounded ominous. "Take off your shirt."

"Like hell." Eren promptly replied.

"You wanna make Mom angry?" Levi reminded him, to which Eren began to undress grudgingly.

'Such an unimpressive, immature body...' Levi thought disappointedly.

His discerning eyes did not miss to notice the large scars on the boy's left arm. There seemed to be a lot of stitch marks on it.

"How did you get that?" Levi asked out of curiosity.

"That's none of your business." Eren replied. "Hurry up and get lost."

As a cold hand touched his bruised ribs, Eren let out an involuntary hiss.

"Hurts?" Levi inquired.

"No." Eren lied.

"You're a sucky liar, brat." Levi remarked. "Your sister is much better at it."

Eren really didn't need Levi to rub it under his nose how Mikasa was better at anything than he was, but Levi went on:

"And you really suck at hand-to-hand combat. You fight like a girl, Eren."

Eren felt a sudden urge to prove otherwise.

"I take that back." Levi reconsidered. "On second thought, your skills are way more inferior. You should be ashamed. Your sister put up a much better fight."

Levi brushed a hand lightly against his bruised face.

'You deserved it, prick.' Eren thought, satisfied with his sister.

"How do you feel?" Levi kept on inquiring in a disinterested voice that told he didn't really care.

"Like shit." Eren replied, tired of him.

"Don't you feel faint? Nauseous?" Levi kept on asking annoying questions.

"Yeah, I could just faint right into bed, I'm so tired." Eren replied, then added: "And I feel like puking my guts out because you're still here, pretending to be so nice."

Levi seemed to be satisfied with the answer. He put away the things neatly into the medical kit, disposing of the stuff he used to treat Eren.

Eren was in the act of pulling his shirt back over his upper body when the door to his basement room opened once again. Mikasa came in, balancing a tray in one hand. When she noticed that Levi was also there, her eyes went wide in surprise.

"You two made up?" she asked, sincerely hoping that Eren had finally given up on being so stubborn.

But the look Eren gave her told otherwise.

"Mikasa, why did you come down here?" he asked, although he was rather grateful that she did.

"I brought you some food." Mikasa said, putting down the tray on a nearby shelf.

"I'm not hungry." Eren said, even though his stomach grumbled audibly.

"You need to eat." Mikasa insisted, bringing a bowl of steaming hot soup and a piece of bread for Eren to eat.

"I'm not-" Eren wanted to repeat, but he was shut up when Mikasa shoved the bread deep into his mouth.

"Eat. You don't look well." Mikasa said, and the way she acted like his mother crept Eren out.

"Fuck, Mikasa! Are you trying to kill me?" Eren asked, almost choking on the bread.

"You should eat, too." Mikasa said to Levi in a motherly tone, which she usually reserved for Eren alone. "You hardly ate anything during dinner."

"I thought so!" Eren exclaimed, convinced that his theory was finally proven true. "He poisoned it! He's gonna kill us all!"

Mikasa shot him a deadly glance.

"Don't start it again." she said strictly. "The soup is good, and as you can see, I'm still alive and well."

"Just wait until tomorrow morning, when you wake up and find yourself lying dead and cold in your bed." Eren warned her.

"You know you don't make any sense at all?" Mikasa said, throwing a glance at Levi.

Levi caught her eyes, trying to figure out whether she meant to ask him for some help.

"I'll eat from the soup, then. So that you can see there's no poison in it." Levi offered. "And even if it's poisoned, I doubt you'd mind if I woke up dead in the morning, anyway."

Ever since he first mentioned it, Mikasa had a very bad feeling about Eren talking about poisoning. She was afraid that Eren would really try to kill Levi. Not that she was particularly concerned whether Levi was dead or alive, but she did not want her brother to do something as horrible as killing a person.

"Eren." she said in a dead serious tone. "Swear to me that you won't try to kill Levi."

"Huh?" Eren looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Swear!" Mikasa pressed him.

Eren was reluctant to give his word. True, he hated Levi, and he really wanted him to disappear. However, he doubted he had it in him to actually try and kill Levi.

'That would be awful, right? All the blood…' Eren contemplated.

"Eren!" Mikasa called sharply, noticing that her brother was staring vacantly into space again.

"I won't kill him." he said at last. "As long as he won't try to kill _me_."

"And I guess if I ever tried to kill Eren, I'd have to deal with you first, Mikasa." Levi said, looking into the pair of dark eyes.

He found that he was beginning to understand the look in them. At that moment, it confirmed his assumptions: brother and sister were so close they wouldn't even hesitate to kill in order to protect the other. Or to survive.

"Fine by me." he finally said, sitting back comfortably on Eren's bed, resting his back against the wall.

It all indicated that he wasn't intending to leave anytime soon, at which Eren felt greatly dismayed.

"How's Eren?" Mikasa inquired, noticing the medical kit Levi had brought with him.

"Beside his cuts, there're only a couple of bruises." Levi replied. "I went really easy on him. He will survive."

"And you?" Mikasa asked.

"I'm fine." Levi said, returning the question: "Your wound?"

"It's nothing." Mikasa replied.

There was a rather deep cut on Mikasa's right cheek, under the eye. Eren wasn't the least proud of having been the cause of such an ugly mark on Mikasa's beautiful face.

On the other hand, however, he was deeply disgusted by the short exchange of words between his sister and that hateful stranger. It seemed as if Mikasa and Levi were beginning to get on, in spite of all what had happened earlier, and he certainly didn't like it the least. He had already had to give up on his room in favour of the stranger, but he swore that he wouldn't let Levi take Mikasa from him.

"Eat up." Mikasa said once again, offering him the bowl of soup.

Eren shot a last glance at Levi, whose expression, like always, was unreadable.

'Still, he looks like a psychopath.' Eren thought. 'He has that kind of eyes.'

In the end, his hunger conquered his suspicions, and he accepted the food. He found it difficult to use the spoon with his injured hand, so he drank it instead, earning a deeply disgusted glance from Levi as he was slurping and gulping down the soup rather loudly. When he finished drinking, Eren wiped his mouth on his shirtsleeve.

'How can be anyone such a disgusting pig as this brat?' Levi wondered disapprovingly, but aloud he only said:

"One last advice from me, Eren. I wouldn't recommend using those hands for any exerting exercise during the forthcoming couple of days." Levi said meaningfully. "I hope that's not too bad news for you."

"Fuck off." Eren replied, but Mikasa soon poked him so that Eren almost spilled the remaining meat and vegetables from his bowl.

"Watch out, brat." Levi warned him. "This shirt's new, and I don't want to change again."

"Going out somewhere?" Eren asked nastily. "I always thought princesses were supposed to go to bed before midnight."

Levi only shot him a piercing glance.

"Don't worry about schoolwork, Eren. I'll take notes for you." Mikasa offered, quickly returning to their earlier conversation.

Not that Eren was greatly concerned about all that. In fact, he never really gave a thought about how he would manage in school with both hands injured like that.

"Take Levi's advice." Mikasa continued. "You really shouldn't use your hands until the wounds are properly healed."

"Well, that's nice." Levi remarked, standing up and hopefully preparing to leave. "I'll also do what I can, but don't expect me to wipe your ass for you or anything like that, brat."

Eren didn't know why, but Mikasa was chuckling, even though he couldn't find anything funny about what Levi had just said. He suddenly felt angry at the two of them, like they were mocking him. He hated it when he was treated like a helpless child.

"Get lost. I'm tired of the both of you." he said, handing back his bowl to Mikasa.

She got the message, standing up to leave, too. Eren could still hear Mikasa and Levi talking in a low voice as they went up the stairs.

He lay down on the bed, wishing for a dreamless sleep to overcome him. But instead, he was greeted by nightmares again. He wondered why his dreams felt so vivid and lifelike lately. Yet, every time he woke up from them, he could not recall what they were. The only thing that remained from them was a sense of deep sadness – and terror.

_The whole neighbourhood was shocked by the incident. No-one expected that to happen. Not even me, although I believed I knew him more than anyone else in this world. But even when people started calling him a monster, when I looked at him, the only thing I could see was my brother…_

* * *

**End Notes:**  
Next chapters are going to introduce some more SnK characters.


	7. Undefeatable Giants

**Notes: **Warning for spoiler, although vaguely hinted at.

* * *

**Chapter 07**

**Undefeatable Giants**

_He's strong. He'd be impossible to defeat._

Eren felt incredibly tired. His first two weeks in his new high school had been hell. Usually, he was looking forward to the weekends, but not now. With Levi around, he expected it to be his most horrible family weekend ever. On top of all that, his father decided to take them to a family outing to a nearby forest. Normally, Eren would have liked the idea of wandering around in nature, but knowing that Levi was now part of their family life spoiled all the fun for him. He couldn't imagine why Mikasa seemed to be okay with all that.

Their last lesson was P.E. that day, and Eren was thankful he could excuse himself from participating. He was heading towards his locker to get his things out, but since Mikasa was still in class, he had to pick his way carefully. Ever since his first day in his new school, he had been picked as target for the school's most notorious bullies. Of course, Mikasa knew nothing about that. Eren would have hated to rely on his sister again. He was still angry with her for getting involved in his fight with Levi. But what made him even angrier was the way she acted afterwards as if none of that ever happened.

That morning, Eren woke up and found his wounds re-opened, the blood filtering through his new bandages and staining them in an ugly, dirty shade of red. When Levi saw it, he gave Eren a glare that could have killed. Still, he insisted on re-bandaging Eren's hands, and they were almost late from school because of that. Or rather, because Eren was stubbornly resisting Levi's attempts at treating him, insisting that he did nothing with his hands to re-open the wounds, while the other claimed the opposite. Had it not been for Mikasa's intervention, they would have still been at it.

Eren looked down on his bandaged hands, dressed now in fresh, clean gauze. He really wished his wounds would heal faster. He hated to be so helpless and reliant on others.

As he approached the lockers, he heard a loud noise, and instinctively shrank back into a dark corner, hoping that he would remain unseen. He could hear two males talking in deep, boisterous voices. Peering out cautiously from his hiding place, Eren recognized them as the captain of the rugby team, a broad-shouldered, bulky guy; and his best buddy, who was taller than anyone else in the whole school.

Eren had learned to fear them from his very first day at Liberty High. He also thought that they were the greatest shitheads he ever had the misfortune to cross paths with. He didn't know their names, only that both of them went to second grade, and they usually picked on anyone they did not like, regardless of what grade they were in. And Eren always got incredibly unlucky with such guys. He knew that even if he were to do his damnest to stand up to them, his best chances were to end up a bloody pulp. If he got lucky, he might even survive, but only barely. Those two were like undefeatable giants in Eren's eyes, so he decided it was better to stay out of their way.

He did not move from his hiding place until the voices of the two of them died down, and the corridor became empty again. Only then did he resume his walk towards the lockers. He opened his own locker to pack away his stuff as best as he could with his injured hands. He realized that he still had the sandwich Levi made for him to eat at lunchtime, although it was rather flattened by the end of the day.

'Ugh.' Eren thought with a disgusted grimace, stuffing it away in his bag.

He did not want to eat it – he was still convinced that any food that came from Levi was poisoned – but he hated to throw food away. He remembered that Mikasa ate her share during lunch break. He decided that if she survived, he would give his bread to the birds in the park.

As he closed his locker door, he gave a sudden, startled jump when he realized that Mikasa was standing close beside him.

"Shit!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Stop sneaking up on me like that! You have no idea how creepy you can look!"

"Why? Are you being paranoid again?" Mikasa asked.

Eren only gave an irritable huff, his heart still beating fast from the earlier surprise.

"Are you done? Can we go?" Mikasa inquired.

"Yeah, let's go home." Eren answered, even though he was reluctant to.

He realized that Mikasa was staring at him expectantly, one hand outstretched towards him. Eren rolled his eyes in answer.

"I'm not an invalid." he said, annoyed with his sister. "I can carry my stuff myself."

He set out with great strides, Mikasa following behind.

"Levi said you shouldn't-" Mikasa began in a worried voice.

"Fuck Levi!" Eren snapped at her a bit too loudly.

He didn't realize right away that they were not alone on the corridor. Their own homeroom teacher was walking opposite to them, his military boots creaking ominously on the corridor floor. Eren shut up immediately.

The man was tall, blond, and had remarkable eyebrows. Due to his authoritative look, Eren thought he also looked like a fearful giant, although still not as terrifying as the two bullies. As he walked up to them, his face wore a kind expression.

"Eren Jäger, right?" the man asked with a friendly smile.

"Yes, sir." Eren replied sheepishly, hoping that their teacher did not hear his earlier outburst.

"And your sister Mikasa, if I'm correct." he said, turning his icy blue eyes towards Mikasa, who nodded in reply.

"Great! I'd better remember the names of my new recruits… I mean, _students_." he corrected himself, the warm smile never leaving his features.

Eren and Mikasa exchanged a quick glance.

'This man is weird.' was what they both thought, but none of them could determine exactly why they got such an impression.

"I was on my way to post this…" their teacher continued, producing a small parcel from among the documents he was carrying. "But maybe you can help me out with this one. It has the same address as you two, and the name is Levi Jäger. Your brother, perhaps?"

"He's not my-" Eren began, but Mikasa poked him with an elbow before he could finish.

Eren gave a pained grunt.

"Yes, he's our brother." Mikasa said quickly.

"Good." the man smiled. "Can you please deliver it for me, then? I think it'd be faster, and he'll need it soon."

He was directing his words at Eren, who was staring back at him dumbly.

"Sure." Mikasa said, taking the parcel herself.

"Thank you."

He gave Mikasa a dazzling smile, and Eren felt a sudden urge to escape. But as it turned out, their teacher still had business with the two of them.

"By the way…" he began as one initiating a friendly conversation, which also threatened to be rather long. "Since you two are new here, have you decided what clubs to join yet?"

"No." Mikasa replied.

Eren expected him to look put off, but instead he looked even more enthusiastic.

"Then how about joining the Scouting Club? I'm sure it'd be a lot of fun…!"

But before he could elaborate on how great the Scouting Club was, he was interrupted by the sudden arrival of the noisiest person Eren had ever met.

"Commander, sir!" a tall girl called loudly from the other end of the corridor.

She wore glasses, and her brown hair was tied up in a messy ponytail.

"Oh-ho! What do we have here? New recruits?" she inquired, skipping towards them enthusiastically.

"I hope so." the man replied with an optimistic smile.

Eren had not the slightest intention of joining any club. He did not care the least about spending an uneventful four years in high school. In fact, that was what he had been hoping for.

However, all his hopes were soon shattered when his incompetency was inevitably revealed, and in a sharp contrast to his perfect sister. On top of that, he ended up being involved with the greatest shithead of the school, who would make life difficult for him in the forthcoming four years.

At the end of each day, he had to erase so many bad memories that his head felt almost empty. And with Levi around, he also had to forget everything concerning him. He did not want Mr Eyebrows and his Scouting Club to burden him with a lot of other unpleasant memories, too.

Eren was fully prepared to decline the offer. Only, he did not have the courage to do so. Between the noisy girl's enthusiastic chatter and the man's encouraging smile, Eren felt uncertain about what to do. And the case was even worse when he found Mikasa staring at him expectantly.

"I really don't know yet, sir." he said hesitantly. "I need some time to think it over."

"By all means, do so." the man said, putting a strong hand on Eren's shoulder, at which he flinched. "I'm expecting a favourable answer."

The way he said that was rather intimidating, and Eren felt an even greater urge to escape.

"Yes, sir." he managed to say. "Well, we need to go now. Levi… I mean, mother is waiting for us."

With a last, friendly smile at Eren and Mikasa, the man finally turned and walked away with the noisy girl, who kept on chattering loudly about some experiment.

Eren and Mikasa resumed their way home in silence. Observing that Mikasa still looked alive and well – even though she had consumed a full meal prepared by Levi – Eren took out his sandwich from his bag, and began scattering some breadcrumbs.

"What are you doing?" Mikasa asked disapprovingly when she noticed.

"Feeding the birds." Eren answered. "It's almost winter. They must be hungry."

"No." Mikasa shook her head. "Why didn't you eat that? You must eat, you know."

"I know, but I wasn't hungry." Eren lied, beginning to get irritated.

Mikasa let out an exasperated sigh, but didn't say any more. She realized that they were heading for the park, and suspected that Eren planned to stay there for a while before actually heading home. Eren went straight to the old fountain and sat down on the brim.

"So much salad and not a bit of meat…" he grumbled under his nose, dissecting the sandwich to examine its contents. "Like I'm some fucking rabbit or something…"

He spread the remaining bread and whatever it was in the sandwich on the ground for the animals to eat. He was annoyed that he couldn't get Levi out of his head. As much as he tried to deny his existence, he was reminded again and again that Levi was real. And Eren noticed that somehow Levi had already managed to influence his thoughts.

Mikasa watched her brother with a mixture of disapproval and worry. She didn't like the way Eren was acting lately.

"I think you should join them." she said suddenly.

"What?" Eren asked, raising his head to meet her eyes with a puzzled look.

"The Scouting Club." Mikasa said.

"That's a stupid idea, Mikasa." Eren replied dismissively.

"I don't think so." his sister insisted.

"Then go and join them yourself." Eren suggested.

"Only if you join, too." Mikasa replied.

Eren was expecting his sister to give such an answer, but he was already beginning to get fed up by the way Mikasa kept on following him blindly wherever he went.

"You can't make me. I've already decided." he said stubbornly.

It was now Mikasa's turn to be fed up.

"Decided? What? To live your whole life behind walls? Without even trying to open up to other people?" Mikasa burst out suddenly. "You can't do that, Eren."

She had realized for a long time that Eren refused to live in the real world, like normal people did. She could understand why he chose to escape from reality, but still, she was deeply concerned whether it was really the best thing for his brother.

"Who said I can't?" Eren snapped back at her, jumping to his feet.

Mikasa stared back at him, speechless.

"You know what everyone thinks of me, right?" Eren said in a low, hoarse voice. "A freak like me shouldn't pretend to be human."

His words stabbed Mikasa hard in the chest, but before they could immerse in their old argument again, Eren started walking. Mikasa expected him to escape instead of talking to her, but she was relieved to find that he was at least heading towards home.

On the way, Eren kept on kicking the fallen leaves. Once in a while, a piece paper came under his feet, probably scattered by the strong, chilly wind that promised the coming of winter. He trampled on the papers, too, only giving them a fleeting glance. On the papers, there was a black-and-white photo of a girl who was wearing a Liberty High uniform and had her dark hair tied up in pigtails. She looked vaguely familiar to Eren.

As they walked up to the front door, Eren suddenly turned back to face Mikasa.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier." he said.

He really wanted to make it up with Mikasa. She was the one person he could not afford to lose, no matter what happened.

"I don't mind, but-" Mikasa began, but Eren cut her in:

"I won't change my mind." he said firmly. "So don't bring it up before _them_."

They found their mother busy in the kitchen, as usual. What was strange, however, that they couldn't see Levi anywhere.

"Mom, where's Levi?" Mikasa inquired. "There's something for him."

She fished out the parcel from her bag.

"He's in his room." their mother replied. "With Armin."

"What?" Eren said indignantly.

So taking away his room wasn't enough for Levi, he was also scheming to steal his best friend from him. Before his mother or Mikasa could say anything, he hurried up the stairs with great leaps. He couldn't believe his ears when he heard Armin's voice laughing behind the door to the room he could once call his own. He had no idea what could be so funny in whatever it was that Levi had said to him. Without a second thought, he burst the door open on them.

"Armin!" he shouted, demanding an answer for the situation.

The blond-haired boy froze, the smile slowly disappearing from his features as he saw Eren's expression. Levi shot him his usual, piercing glance.

"You can't be serious…!" Eren said in an incredulous tone, taking in the scene.

Levi was in the act of cleaning his room, and Armin was evidently helping him all too eagerly.

"Eren!" Armin called, his cheerfulness returning. "Levi told me you were kind enough to give your room to him. I'm so glad you two finally made friends!"

"Maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration." Levi remarked in a low voice, dusting the shelves from the top of a chair.

Eren observed with dismay that most of his stuff was carefully put away in boxes. His room was beginning to look disgustingly orderly. He hated it.

'Fucking liar.' he thought, and had half a mind to drag Levi down from the chair he was standing on and continue where they had let it off the other day.

Just then, Mikasa arrived, giving Eren a push from behind so he had to step further into the now nauseatingly cleanser-smelling room.

"Hello, guys. Sorry for the interruption, but there's something for you from school, Levi." she said, walking up to Levi and handing him the parcel.

"About time." Levi remarked. "Thanks."

He looked down at Mikasa for a while, but soon his attention was claimed by Eren and his still shoe-clad feet. For a moment, they looked eye-to-eye, the tension in the room growing.

'I got you pissed again, you clean-freak prick.' Eren observed with satisfaction. 'That's good.'

'Just wait, you shitty brat.' – Levi thought – 'You'll be so sorry for ever crossing ways with me.'

Neither of them said a word out loud as defiant green met icy grey. They both knew the opportunity for them to settle the score would arrive eventually.

_He's small. He'll be easy to crush…_

* * *

**End Notes:**  
I won't be updating this story for a while. I really want to try and write another SnK one-shot, so I'll be focusing upon that one instead. In the meantime, please review. ;)


	8. Enchanted

**Notes: **Sorry for the late update. Also, I thought I managed to tag this fic as Romance/Horror before, but seems like I didn't, so I made the correction (hopefully it'll work). I hope you like slowly developing romances, because it will be a long, winding road until Levi and Eren comes even close to really liking each other.

* * *

**Chapter 08**

**Enchanted**

_There is a vast forest of giant trees. The forest is deep and dark. The paved path turns back before reaching its depth. In the middle of the forest, there is a bright clearing, where small white flowers grow._

The day of the promised family outing came, and Levi was far from being enthusiastic about it. In fact, he felt dead tired, and not the least inclined to go out that day.

Even with Armin's help, he could only finish half the job he had planned. He never imagined that cleaning out that pigsty would be such a tedious work for an expert cleaner like himself. All the heaps of stinky garments, the remains of food littering the floor, and the dust that clung to everywhere made him nauseous. But at least he managed to make the room habitable enough, although it still remained far from meeting his high standards.

He would soon get rid of all the trash he was kind enough to put away in boxes instead of disposing of them right away. He planned to take the boxed stuff down to the brat, then let him do with them whatever he pleased.

Levi had not the slightest intention of frequenting that filthy, musty basement room more often than was absolutely necessary. Being in the company of Eren and his sister Mikasa was to him like immersing himself in a bath of filthy, muddy water. He found the sensation he got around them irritating to the extreme, yet at the same time strangely curious. After spending time with them, he always needed to be alone for a good while until he felt clean and comfortable again.

That night, he only decided to stay with Eren and Mikasa in that dusty basement room in order to observe them more closely. And he did notice a couple of strange things about the two of them. Maybe today they would show him more…

True to his promise, the doctor took his family to a famous tourist spot in the area. The forest they were heading to was half an hour drive away from home. Levi found himself sitting in the back seat between Mikasa and Eren. The brat wore a sulky expression all the way. Levi guessed the reason for that was because he couldn't bring his best friend Armin with him, since there was no room for another person in the car. And of course it was all because of Levi being an unwanted passenger.

Levi was well aware of the extent his presence disturbed the boy. And the brat's feelings were fully reciprocated by him. Levi really wasn't the type to accommodate himself to others. If he couldn't find a good use of the boy in his life, he would have to dispose of him, the way he usually disposed of worthless trash.

When the doctor parked the car in the spacious parking area at the feet of the huge trees, Levi could observe a sudden change in Eren's expression. He read it as something like awe, maybe even anticipation. His doll-faced sister wore a similar expression.

'How childish…' Levi thought of them.

Yet, he couldn't suppress a feeling of sheer amazement washing over him as well when he saw the enormous trees, reaching so high up their tip almost touched the sky. It was a densely grown forest of such giant trees, a wide, paved tourist route leading into the depth.

As they walked down the path into the forest, Levi's eyes took in all the different shades of green with great pleasure. The colour green had always attracted him rather strongly. For him, it was the colour of freedom, and he treasured that ideal more than anything else.

Levi did not want to admit it, but the sight managed to captivate even him. He felt Carla's gaze on him, scrutinizing him closely for his reaction. The whole outing had been planned only for his sake, since Levi had never been there before. Obviously, she was waiting for him to respond in a similar way his brother and sister had done.

"Beautiful." he remarked in a low voice, his expression remaining unreadable.

Carla seemed relieved that he liked it, and Levi wasn't lying or pretending. That wasn't in his nature, he was usually frank and blunt. Even after using such a strong word to describe the sight before him, Levi couldn't feel that it was an exaggeration. The whole forest had an air of serene beauty, and even though Levi wasn't the person to believe in fairy tales, he almost felt like the forest was enchanted.

At least, it seemed to turn his brother and sister into a pair of young deer. The way they skipped and played around like some wild animals slightly disgusted him. Not long after they had arrived, the two of them seemed to be absorbed in some kind of tag-game, which soon made them stray from the paved path.

"Levi, dear, why don't you join them?" Carla suggested as they were walking into the forest.

Levi loathed the idea of having to play silly games with the shitty brat and his sister, but somehow he did not dare to defy Carla. Seemingly he agreed, and started walking into the woods, in the direction he had last seen the two of them disappear.

Levi could still hear their voices, loud and laughing. He did not know why, but it made him feel uneasy. Even as he could hear them, the vast forest around him felt abandoned. Most of the sunlight was absorbed by the thick canopy of leaves high above, only a dim light filtering through. Looking at the deep shadows, Levi remembered how dangerous and terrifying forests could be.

He wandered aimlessly for a while, losing sight of Mikasa and Eren. After some time, he found the path again, and could hear a different voice. As he noticed whom it belonged to, he couldn't help but stop and stare for a minute in bewilderment.

The voice he heard was of a girl with shoulder-length light brown hair, who was standing with her back to him. She was wearing a fawn-coloured uniform skirt, with a waist-length dark green cloak, which was embroidered in a pattern that reminded Levi of wings. What he couldn't comprehend was why she seemed to be hugging the trunk of the huge tree standing just beside the path.

"How much longer do I have to stay like this?" she grumbled to an unseen companion.

To Levi's approaching steps, she turned around, her startled eyes meeting his gaze. The word he so rarely bestowed upon anything or anyone crossed his mind again as he looked into the pair of hazel eyes. Such simple beauty. Nothing false in it. Levi found he quite liked those eyes.

"Oh, how embarrassing…" the girl said in a low voice, blushing slightly and stepping back from the tree to face him.

She shrank back a little as she took a closer look at him, and Levi realized that he must have looked quite horrible with that ugly bruise on his face. No wonder the girl was scared of him.

"I think we're almost done!" came an energetic female voice from somewhere behind the tree.

Soon, another girl leaped out onto the path, wearing the same uniform with the green cloak. Levi wondered why these schoolgirls donned their uniforms for the weekend, and what they were up to with the tree.

"Whoa, what happened to your face?" the girl who wore glasses and had her hair in an untidy ponytail asked bluntly, coming closer to scrutinize him with her wide brown eyes.

Levi instinctively took a few steps backwards.

"That's rude, Hanji." the other girl remarked to her in a whisper.

"Oh, right. Sorry." the girl named Hanji said, laughing loudly. "My name's Hanji, and this is Petra. We're both proud members of Liberty High's Scouting Club. So nice to meet your acquaintance, er…"

She kept on staring at him questioningly.

"Levi." he gave her his name, although he had no intention of making friends.

He guessed the girl called Petra seemed all right, but that other one was definitely weird in the head.

"Levi, it's so great you came!" Hanji went on enthusiastically. "I need another hand for my research!"

Levi wondered just what kind of research those two girls were conducting so deep into the forest. Whatever it was they needed help with, Levi was fully prepared to say no. And especially if this so-called research involved hugging some filthy trees. Somehow he felt sorry for Petra for being stuck with such a weirdo. Still, he was a bit curious.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked in a voice that betrayed not the least interest.

"I'm so glad you asked!" Hanji exclaimed loudly, coming even closer to him. "You see, we're looking for the oldest tree in the forest!"

'The oldest tree, huh.' Levi contemplated, without giving voice to his opinion. 'Such unnecessary trouble.'

"The oldest tree must have the thickest trunk, right?" Hanji went on. "So we're measuring the trees to find that one!"

'One by one? In such a huge-ass forest? You're crazy.' Levi thought, but aloud he only said: "Well, that's nice. Good luck."

He was preparing to leave them to their weird work, when the crazy girl grabbed him by the arm – a thing he really hated.

"You seem so small and weak, but that's no problem." she said in a deep voice which Levi found rather eerie. "I think I have just the right job for you…"

Levi did not want to find out what she had in mind for him. For the first time, he was thankful when his brother and sister suddenly burst out from among the trees, still laughing loudly. Levi was relieved when the attention was turned towards the two of them.

"Ah, you two!" Hanji exclaimed, recognition flashing in her eyes.

Levi couldn't miss the way Eren's smile immediately withered from his face to be replaced by an expression he thought was best described as a constipated look.

'So, shitty brat and shitty glasses already know each other, huh.' he concluded.

"Hello, Hanji." Mikasa said, and Levi could tell that she was equally uneasy about the unexpected encounter.

"Have you decided to join, too? I was just about to recruit Levi to the Scouting Club!" Hanji exclaimed enthusiastically. "Do you guys know each other?"

"Yes, Hanji." Mikasa said in a voice that betrayed no emotion. "He's our brother."

"He's not my brother…" Levi heard Eren grumble under his nose before Hanji exclaimed loudly again:

"_Fabulous_! Three new recruits to the Scouting Club!" she enthused, turning to the other girl. "Isn't it great, Petra?"

"Yes…" the girl replied rather uncertainly. "But you really should let them have a say in it. I don't think they agreed to join yet."

Hanji looked back at her with a puzzled expression.

"And I'm not sure you can recruit just anyone who's not in our school." Petra continued in a lower voice, stealing a fleeting glance at Levi.

"Oh, right." Hanji remembered, feeling a bit disappointed.

Levi caught Mikasa's eyes, and he read something like a question in them. It would take him time to fully understand the meaning behind his sister's looks, and he wasn't sure whether he would ever be able to communicate that way. He gave an almost imperceptible shrug in response, to which Mikasa began speaking again:

"Levi starts next week in Liberty High, too." she said, to which Hanji perked up again. "He's in third grade, the same as you."

Levi registered with some dismay that the two girls would be his classmates. Not that he minded Petra, who seemed quiet and nice enough, but he found Hanji a noisy, irritating person. He hated school, because he had to be stuck with a bunch of such unpleasant people, and he hated people in general.

Hearing such good news, Hanji's eyes lit up again. Petra was also smiling happily. As for Eren, he didn't understand why everyone made such a great fuss over Levi. He was too short and had a perpetual sour expression, and he always wore the same condescending look, like he was dead bored of everyone around him. And he had a nasty way of talking, not to mention he was an unpleasant asshole on the whole. He knew that from the very beginning. Still, for some unknown reason, people fell so easily under his spell. How he achieved it was beyond Eren's grasp. He didn't find anything the least charming about him.

"So, how about joining the Scouting Club?" Hanji continued to press the three of them. "Look what a wonderful cloak we have! And it also has a hoodie!"

She turned around to show off her green cloak, which had the outlines of a pair of wings embroidered on it, just like the one Levi had seen earlier on Petra's back. The only difference was that some of the feathers were black or white, which made it look like an incomplete puzzle. Eren noticed that Levi looked slightly interested.

"What's that pattern?" Levi asked, directing his question at Petra.

"That's an emblem called the Wings of Freedom." the girl explained.

"That's right!" Hanji said, turning back to face them. "And you have to earn your wings feather by feather! You can get them by completing some really challenging tasks! Sounds exciting, right?"

'How troublesome.' was what both Eren and Levi thought.

Eren only liked to play his own games, which were safe enough for him even if he failed; and Levi simply hated games. He only ever played one kind of 'game', and he sincerely hoped he was done playing it for good…

Since none of them made a reply, and the unenthusiastic silence following Hanji's question was becoming rather awkward by then, Mikasa took on herself to break it:

"Yes, that's great." she said, trying to sound impressed. "And you already have so many. You must be good."

"Yeah, well…" Hanji said, trying to be modest while obviously eager to boast about her accomplishments.

On the other hand, Petra looked concerned about her lack of feathers. She kept avoiding the grey eyes that occasionally glanced at her.

"It's still a new club, so you can catch up easily." Hanji continued, an expectant look in her eyes.

"Yeah, but I think we should really be going." Eren spoke up for the first time, feeling a sudden urge to get away at last. "Our parents must be looking for us by now. See you in school!"

He didn't really intend it as a promise, he just wanted to be rid of them at last. Saying that, he grabbed Mikasa's hand and ran off, quick as the wind, leaving Levi and the two girls behind.

"Oh-ho! It'll be so much fun!" Hanji said, full of anticipation.

Soon, they heard the sound of approaching hoofs from within the forest. Levi did not move from the spot. Something inside him told that he should wait it out, even if he would regret his choice later…

"Eren, stop dragging me!" Mikasa said as they were running out of the forest. "What about Levi? Shouldn't we wait for him?"

Eren kept on running without looking back even once. He did not care about Levi the least. All he could think of was that he wanted to be out of the forest. The huge trees looming above him were beginning to get really oppressive, and it made him uneasy that he couldn't see the sky from the dense foliage. He also felt like they were being chased. Was that the clatter of hoofs he heard?

"Someone's coming on a horse." Mikasa said, to which Eren only increased his pace.

However, he couldn't outrun the horse and its rider. Soon, they were overtaken, and as the person halted his horse in front of them and steered to face them, Eren felt the familiar urge to escape, only his path was now completely blocked.

"Eren, Mikasa! I'm glad to see you again!" the man whom they recognized as their homeroom teacher said, smiling down on them in his usual friendly manner. "I also had the pleasure of meeting your brother Levi."

Eren noticed that Levi was also there, seated on the horse in front of the man and looking genuinely displeased.

'Fucking Princess Levi and his Prince Charming.' he thought of them, slightly amused by the sight.

"Thank you for the ride." Levi said flatly, sliding down the horse without waiting for assistance.

"You're welcome anytime, Levi." the man said, flashing his signature smile on Levi, too.

Eren wondered whether it had any effect on him. As for himself, he was relieved when the man finally turned his horse and rode back into the forest, and the three of them resumed their walk to the parking area.

Carla was indeed looking for them by now. She insisted on them having some lunch before going back home, so they took out the sandwiches their mother prepared for the outing, and began eating in silence. Eren suspected that Levi's hand was also in it, but he dared not complain in front of his mother. He almost choked when he heard a familiar voice suddenly calling:

"Yo-ho! See you in school!"

Hanji and Petra were walking some distance away, heading for the bus stop. Eren wondered for a moment why Mr Eyebrows wasn't with them, while Mikasa waved back to the girls.

"Your friends?" their mother inquired.

"No. / Yes. / Maybe." came the three different answers from her children.

On the way back home, Levi felt extremely drained. He had to keep himself from using either Mikasa or Eren as pillow, since he felt ready to drop off. The brat was already dozing off, not paying the least attention to the questions their mother put to them. As always, Mikasa was ready to answer for them, and Levi felt really grateful for that. It had been a really long day for him.

When they finally arrived home, they found Armin sitting on the steps to the front door, a heavy-looking book on his lap.

"How was your outing?" Armin greeted them with a bright smile.

Looking at the boy's cheerful expression and lively blue eyes, Levi felt he really had had enough for a day. He needed a bath. He needed to be alone. It had been a _really_ long day.

_On the clearing of white flowers, there stands an old, old tree. This tree is bigger and higher than all the other trees in the forest. It has a hollow in its enormous trunk. And in the hollow of this ancient tree, there lies…_

* * *

**End Notes:** Longest chapter so far... Next chapter is in the process of being edited, so it'll come a bit sooner. Expect some more Eren vs. Levi conflict.


	9. Sticks and Stones

**Notes:** I think I'm back on track again. I managed to draft 4 consecutive chapters, yay. I'll try to make the update regular, like a chapter/week, but I won't promise to always keep to that, since I'm quite busy (or should be) with other tasks as well...

* * *

**Chapter 09**

**Sticks and Stones**

_Words can be harsh weapons when you know how to use them. Even a single word can push one off the edge._

Levi inspected the plastic card which came earlier with the package from school. He looked at the small black-and-white photo on it, and frowned.

'I do look like a criminal…' he thought with a curious feeling as he read the name on his school ID: 'Levi Jäger'

It sounded strange to him. He never had a last name – at least not one he could remember. He would have been happier with a more common and less foreign-sounding name, but he guessed he had to get used to it, whether he liked it or not.

It took Eren and Mikasa ages to prepare before they could finally leave for school, and since the three of them all went to Liberty High now, and Carla insisted on them going together, Levi had to wait for his sister and brother, and he was beginning to get really impatient.

He looked down on his uniform again, smoothing out imaginary creases and checking his perfectly tied necktie again. He wasn't quite sure whether he was satisfied with the uniform on the whole. He rather liked the high boots, especially since they were light and fitted perfectly, and it was really easy to move in them, almost as if walking barefoot. But as much as he liked pure white shirts and trousers, they were also a lot of trouble, because they stained easily. It would be a great achievement not to get dirt all over them by the end of the day. The fawn-coloured jacket was okay, although a bit short for his taste. He didn't like the way his rather slender waist showed, and he had the uncomfortable feeling that his ass stuck out too much.

'Well, it was my choice.' he mused. 'I'd better not regret it later.'

Last week, Carla took him to the tailor to have the uniform fitted for his size. She also bought him a variety of other clothing that he might need. Levi was thankful for that, since he had only brought a bagful of possessions when he arrived in the family. He could tell that Carla took quite a liking to him, since he was so much help around the house, unlike her brother and sister, who seemed nothing but trouble.

At long last, Mikasa walked down the steps, complaining about some dead birds in the garden and carrying two schoolbags. Eren followed behind her, slow as a sloth and looking sleepy.

Eren still had his hands bandaged, although when Levi treated him earlier in the morning, he found that his wounds were completely healed, only the thin white scars were still visible. Levi thought it was strange, because the brat somehow got his bandages all bloody during the night again, so he expected to find the wounds re-opened or only half-healed when he unwrapped Eren's hands. He made Eren wear the bandage anyway, and strangely, the brat didn't complain.

Levi offered Mikasa to help with the bags, but she refused, saying that she didn't mind carrying them by herself. Levi had observed earlier the trained muscles of the girl's arms, and he could tell from a glance that she was much stronger than his brother. Eren might be fierce, but Mikasa was definitely strong.

Levi's hand went involuntarily to one cheek, a plaster now hiding the bruise he had received from Mikasa's fist. Levi thought it was better if people didn't see it. They would only freak out, and he didn't like to stand out, and especially not on the first day in his new high school.

When they arrived in school, Mikasa guided him around the place before the two of them headed for their own classrooms. They met Hanji and Petra on the corridor, and the noisy girl immediately latched on Levi, leading him to the classroom of the third graders.

Levi expected his first day to be a living nightmare, and it turned out just as horrifying. All the noisy students and the unpleasantly familiar smell of so many people crowded into a confined space, it all made him uncomfortable. He was thankful when after a brief introduction in front of his classmates – which was forced by Hanji – he could finally take the only vacant seat in the last row, next to the window, which also happened to be right behind the two girls. While they were still waiting for the teacher, Hanji turned back on her seat to face him.

"Want to swap places?" she asked. "Since you're so short, you might not see too well from there."

'How considerate…' Levi thought, slightly annoyed.

He already noticed that the tall girl's back blocked almost everything from view. It came with quite a few drawbacks to be so short, and he usually didn't tolerate people commenting on his height. However, he decided to let the remark go for this time, since he thought the girl was crazy, and it was so much trouble arguing with crazy people.

"Fine" he replied at last in a bored voice. "As long as Petra doesn't mind sitting next to me."

The girl jumped slightly at hearing her name, but she soon began shaking her head vigorously.

"Of course I don't mind." she said, although Hanji's sudden suggestion took her by surprise.

Hearing that, Levi stood up to exchange his seat for Hanji's, hoping that the girl would leave him alone now.

"So, did you manage to find it?" he asked conversationally as he sat down next to Petra. "The oldest tree?"

"No, not yet." the girl replied, shifting in her seat to give Levi more space at the desk.

"Tell me when you do." Levi said, tilting back his chair a bit. "I want to see it."

Petra wanted to make it a promise, but just then, the teacher came in, and the series of the endlessly tedious classes finally began.

Levi caught himself wondering whether they would have History that day. He still had to memorize his timetable for the week. It was just the other day that he found out that his History teacher would be Erwin Smith, the man he had encountered in the forest of huge trees, and who was generous enough to offer him a ride on his horse.

Levi shivered slightly at the memory. He didn't enjoy horse-riding the least, because he felt uncomfortable with heights, but it was the only way he could be alone with the man for a while, without the annoying Hanji or the brats to disturb them.

"So, you're Levi Jäger, right?" Erwin asked conversationally, once he seated Levi on his horse, and the animal broke into a trot. "The three of you are all sibling?"

"Not exactly." Levi replied, feeling rather insecure as the horse began increasing its speed at Erwin's command.

"Well, you don't look like you're from the same litter." the man laughed. "But that doesn't really matter, right?"

"You don't remember me, do you?" Levi asked in a low voice, a bit afraid of the answer.

His question was followed by thoughtful silence, only broken by the sound of hoofs clattering on the cobblestones.

"You've grown a lot since then, Levi." the man finally said, then added as an afterthought: "Or rather, you did _not_."

He laughed heartily again.

"Stop joking around with me, Erwin." Levi warned him sternly, but he was relieved by his answer.

He found it strange how the passing of time made such a great difference on the outside, while inside nothing seemed to change, and he felt reassured by that. The two strong arms holding the reigns were now of a man's, and Levi wondered whether one day he could grow up to be like him. Sometimes, it was unsettling to be so small…

"Hold your horses a bit." Levi said after a while, assuming a commanding tone. "Let them have some advantage."

After their talk in the forest, Levi wondered when would be the next time he could see Erwin again. He learned from Petra that they wouldn't have History until Wednesday, so he was a bit disappointed.

During lunch break, after successfully getting rid of the ever annoying Hanji, he went to find Mikasa and Eren. The brat forgot to pack his sandwich again, so he took the trouble to take it to him personally. He found Mikasa, but she said that Eren had run off somewhere right after class, and still hadn't returned.

"I bet he wanted to take a quick dump, but the shit just wouldn't come out so smoothly." Levi said, earning an appalled look from Mikasa.

She was just about to begin her own sandwich, but thought twice before biting into it, not sure whether she had an appetite anymore.

"It happens." Levi shrugged. "Want me to check on him?"

Since the men's room was the only place where Mikasa couldn't follow her brother without receiving a couple of disapproving glances, she gladly accepted Levi's offer.

Levi went to search for Eren, and after a while, when he almost thought he had got lost in the place yet unknown to him, he found Eren at the lockers. He stood facing the locker door, eyebrows furrowed as he was looking at something on it.

"Fucking shit, it just won't come off…" Levi heard him mutter as he went up to him.

Eren was frantically wiping something from the metal door of his locker, using his shirtsleeve, but evidently without much success. Noticing Levi's presence, he suddenly threw his back to the locker, crossing his arms in front of his chest in an irritated gesture.

"What do you want?" he asked, looking down on Levi.

Levi produced Eren's lunch from his bag, to which Eren's face contorted in disgust.

"I told you I don't need your fucking sandwich, Levi." Eren said with the same irritated tone. "I'm not hungry anyway."

Levi brought up his free hand and slammed it hard against the locker door, just beside Eren's head. Eren flinched by instinct at the sudden motion and noise.

"Watch your language, brat." Levi said in a low, threatening voice. "You don't want me to wash your mouth for you, do you?"

Levi expected at least some kind of resistance from the brat, but Eren did not even talk back after that. He seemed scared shitless, and Levi wasn't sure whether it was because Eren was so afraid of him, or for some other reason. Either way, the fact that Eren didn't even make the slightest attempt to stand up to him made him irritated.

"What's your problem, brat?" he inquired, training his eyes on the younger boy, who kept on avoiding his gaze.

"Fuck off…" Eren said weakly, almost inaudibly, staring vacantly before himself.

There was definitely something wrong with him, but Levi couldn't tell what. After a while, he lost patience with him.

"As you wish." he said, then turned on his heels and went right back to his own classroom, without even bothering to inform Mikasa about the strange behaviour of her brother.

After the classes were finally over, Levi had to wait for Mikasa and Eren to finish, too. He was standing in front of the school building, thankfully rid of the extremely annoying Hanji, only to be soon in the company of two sulky brats.

When they finally came out of the building, Eren seemed to be in an even worse mood than before, while Mikasa looked angry for some reason. They didn't speak a word the whole way home, but Levi guessed the two of them were still communicating in a secret way, sending out waves of thoughts that sparkled between them. The tension was almost visible.

The same atmosphere continued into dinnertime, until Mikasa finally spilled the beans:

"Eren's bullied in school."

Eren immediately shot her an angry glance from across the table, obviously not happy about her telling that to their parents. Mikasa looked back at him with a determined expression.

Until then, Carla had been nagging Levi with endless questions on how his first day in school went, and when he finally answered all of them with ever diminishing patience, she turned to ask her other two children about their day. That was when Eren refused to answer, staring dumbly into his untouched plate. Mikasa finally lost patience, and couldn't keep it in any longer.

While the news was quite shocking for the parents – especially for Carla – Levi somehow wasn't surprised. He could already see that Eren was a loser, a type who easily fell victim to the bullies. While Levi acknowledged that Eren had moments when something sparked in his otherwise rather dull eyes, most of the time he was nothing more than worthless shit.

At least, that was Levi's impression of his younger brother, after a couple of days of acquaintance. He had to admit, though, that he was intrigued by those rare sparks of will he could sometimes observe in him, and was greatly disappointed when the boy failed to how him any of it during their latest confrontation.

When Carla broke into a monologue about Eren's behaviour and how he acted like a magnet for attracting trouble, Levi wondered for a while what it would be like being in Eren's shoes. Were those the kind of harsh words he received day by day? How did people look at him or treat him? In the end, he found that Eren's life must have been a shitty one. He wondered whether the brat had the will or the guts to change it.

Levi had half a mind to kick Eren under the table, just to provoke some response, but that soon proved unnecessary. Unable to take any more from her mother's speech, Eren stood up suddenly, and left the table without a word. Carla only gaped after her son. Soon, they could hear the front door close with a slam.

Levi noticed that Mikasa was looking at him with imploring eyes. Was she asking for his help again? He let out an inaudible sigh and stood up from the table. He felt Carla's nervous eyes on him.

"I'll go and bring him back." he said, attempting to reassure her, then added before turning to go: "Thank you for the dinner."

Levi had not the faintest idea what was going on with Eren, but the thought that someone managed to break him with either words or actions irritated him to an extent that was almost unbearable. He found he wanted the sparks of will to return into those green eyes.

_One simple word is enough…_

* * *

**End Notes:** Feel free to review, share your opinion. I'm sorry if the tension between Levi and Eren is too much and unsettling. I know it's unpleasant, please bear with me...


	10. Killing the Giant

**Notes: **Warning for violent treatment of poor Eren, who ends up flirting with a rather unheroic death as we get a glimpse into his sufferings. The damsel in distress and the knight in shining armour, taking down the giants. No worries, expect a happy ending (sort of) some chapters away. (Really sorry for the violence and all the unpleasantness...)

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Killing the Giant**

_The advance of the Giants cannot be stopped. Those who want to be heroes all end up being devoured by Them. All hope is gone._

Levi didn't have to think much about where Eren had gone. He expected to find the boy in the park, and he soon did, at the exact same spot he had first caught a glimpse of him and his sister playing their silly game. The small clearing with the fountain was dimly illuminated by the streetlamps. He was not surprised to find Eren bombarding the statue with stones again.

"Will you tell me what kind of game is that?" Levi asked, his voice startling the boy.

"You…" Eren said as he registered Levi's presence, his voice betraying his evident displeasure at being disturbed in his solitude. "Go home."

"I can't unless you come back with me." Levi replied in an even voice.

Eren gave a defiant snort. He resumed throwing stones into the fountain, not even caring to take aim, and continuing to ignore Levi.

'You stubborn piece of shit.' Levi thought, making an irritated sound as he walked up to him.

"I said, _go home_!" Eren repeated, throwing a stone unexpectedly at Levi's direction, but he evaded it without much difficulty.

Levi came close to Eren and grabbed his wrist, twisting it painfully. He could see some sparks lighting up in the green eyes, but not enough to satisfy him.

"I won't tolerate such a tone from you, brat." he said warningly. "I'm not your dog."

Eren gritted his teeth against the pain in his wrist. He made a move to attack again, but soon found his ass hitting the hard ground as Levi kicked his feet from under him, knocking the breath out of his lungs.

"And dare to assault me once again in such an underhanded manner, and you'll soon find yourself in a far worse shape than you're currently in. Got that?" Levi continued as he looked down on him with his cold grey eyes.

'What's wrong with him?' Levi wondered, looking down at the pathetic boy at his feet. 'He hates me so much he wants to kill me. He said so himself. Yet, he's unwilling to put up a decent fight. Such an easy target…'

Eren already felt completely defeated. He couldn't see any use in fighting anymore. It was one thing to be harassed by his schoolmates, but it was entirely different to be bullied in his own home, even though he would never acknowledge Levi as part of his family. It made him feel even more helpless, and he didn't need Levi reminding him of the fact that he was unable to accomplish anything on his own, without relying on the help of those stronger and more capable than himself.

"Now that we're clear on that, let's go home." Levi continued, unexpectedly extending a hand towards Eren to help him up.

"You don't want to get your hand dirty." Eren sneered, trying to get up by himself.

"Yes, you're right about that." Levi replied, withdrawing his hand as he watched Eren struggling to his feet on his own. "But I already touched you, so that doesn't really matter anymore."

Levi turned to go, but Eren still remained rooted to the spot, staring at the statue in the middle of the fountain.

"Fucking son of a bitch." Levi heard Eren mutter under his nose, and he wasn't quite sure whether the insult was aimed at him or the statue.

"Let's go." Levi said once again, beginning to feel the cold creeping into his body.

"Not yet." Eren replied promptly. "I still have to…"

He leaned down to pick up some stones again, this time attempting at actually taking aim before shooting. Not that it made much difference in the result.

Levi let out an exasperated sigh, his breath visible in the chilly wintry air. Whatever the brat was trying to accomplish by being so stubborn beat him, but he decided to wait it out with as much patience as he could muster.

"What is that thing?" he asked, slightly intrigued by the game.

"A Giant." Eren replied, as if it was obvious enough.

"A Giant, huh." Levi mused. "Looks to me like a fat putto. Not cute at all…"

"It's a Giant." Eren insisted.

"And you think you can take it down by throwing stuff at it?" Levi asked, his voice sounding incredulous.

"Yes." Eren replied with conviction.

By then, Levi was fully convinced that Eren was having some really serious issues, and he wasn't sure whether he wanted to be involved in his delusions. Still, he found himself wondering how all this connected to what Eren's real problem was.

"Move. You're in the way." Eren said, noticing that Levi walked around the fountain and was looking at something on the opposite side.

"Come here, brat. I want to show you something." Levi said, his gaze inspecting the back side of the statue.

Eren was reluctant to go, but he was curious.

"What is it?" he asked as he came over to the other side, trying his best to sound disinterested.

"Nice ass, huh?" Levi remarked under his breath when Eren looked at the statue from behind.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Eren burst out indignantly, not the least interested in how the statue's butt looked like, and already regretting that he fell for Levi's words.

"No, I'm serious." Levi replied in an even voice. "What I really wanted to show you was _that_."

He pointed at the back of the statue's head. Eren squinted his eyes, but he couldn't see well what it was.

"Giants are not undefeatable." Levi said. "Even the strongest of them has a weak spot, you just have to find it."

Eren rolled his eyes. He didn't expect to hear such banal stuff from Levi. Even though he was familiar with such concepts, Eren never really found enough confidence in himself to actually believe that anything was possible, even defeating a mighty giant. He had to realize that fighting back the undefeatable giants would only prolong his suffering.

Eren was startled when he suddenly found Levi standing uncomfortably close to him. He could smell his soap-scented aura again, which made him wonder just how he managed to be so fucking clean all the time?

"Notice the crack at the base of the neck?" Levi pointed it out to him. "That's the weak spot."

Levi took a small piece of stone in his hand, and shot it at the statue with a swift, graceful and effortless motion. Eren watched wide-eyed as the Giant's head began crumbling away from its body when the stone hit right at the spot, the head falling into the concrete basin and shattering to pieces. Levi went closer to inspect.

"Dead. Just like that." he announced in an impassive voice.

Eren was staring at Levi's small back with a mixture of amazement and horror. It even took Mikasa considerable time to chip away one of the Giant's arms, but Levi managed to blow its head off with a single shot. He had to realize with dismay that Levi was in the same league with his sister, even superior to her. And having a perfect sister _and_ brother to be compared with was the worst thing that could ever happen to him. Now he knew he stood absolutely no chance.

"Do you want me to take care of those bullies for you?" Levi offered, turning back towards him, his grey eyes bearing into his own with a serious look. "I won't ask much in exchange."

Eren found he couldn't hold his gaze. Even though deep down he would have been glad to be rid of those two bullies, he suspected that making a deal with Levi would be like signing a pact with the devil himself. No matter how small the price was, Eren was unwilling to pay it. Something told him he would be far worse off if he did. He couldn't trust Levi, and especially not with his life.

"No." he firmly refused, turning his back on Levi and walking away.

Levi looked at his retreating figure with the same feeling of irritation. He didn't understand why it was so hard for Eren to accept a helping hand when it was offered to him with good intention. Levi found he felt offended. He wasn't quite sure why, but all he wanted to do was help, in his own way – to do something for this stupid, stubborn, pathetic little brat with whom he ended up being brothers by some strange twist of fate, and whose eyes reflected something he was so painfully familiar with…

They didn't speak again until the next day in school, when Eren found Levi in front of his own locker.

"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, seeing that Levi was quite busy, and well-equipped for the task.

"I'm cleaning off this shit." Levi replied impatiently, rubbing the locker door with a cloth, which was soaked in some strong-smelling substance.

Eren wrinkled his nose in disgust as he breathed in the unpleasant smell of cleanser, which always seemed to cling to Levi. He really was a clean freak, and the worst, most annoying one Eren had ever met.

"It might need some re-painting afterwards." Levi remarked thoughtfully, noticing that he managed to remove most of the paint from the locker door as well.

"Stop that, you're only making it worse." Eren said, to which Levi turned to face him.

"It's still better this way than with that fucking word on it, don't you think?" he asked, eyes sharp as a blade as they bore into Eren's own. "I think I deserve at least a 'thank you' for my efforts."

"No-one asked for your cleaning services, Levi." Eren said, exasperated, sincerely wondering why Levi even bothered.

"I don't care." Levi replied evenly, removing his rubber gloves that were protecting his hands. "My locker is right under yours, and that thing was an eyesore."

"Suit yourself." Eren mumbled before turning to go.

"Who did it?" Levi called after him.

"I have no idea." Eren lied, although he had a pretty good guess as to who wanted him dead at the moment. "And I don't need your help, either. Just leave me alone."

He left Levi, but as the days passed, excruciatingly slow, he soon found that he couldn't get rid of him, now matter how hard he tried to deny that he ever existed. Even if Levi wasn't around, everything seemed to be all about him, as if he were such an important person.

The arrival of a new student was always a big deal in the rather small community of Liberty High, and Levi gained immediate popularity and respect among the majority of the students. Eren had already noticed that he was always in the company of Hanji and Petra. The two girls seemed to be head over heels for him, even though he was only a short prick in Eren's eyes.

The week wasn't even over, and the news of Levi's academic and athletic skills was spreading quick as wildfire. It was the same all over again as it had been with Mikasa, only the girl wasn't so popular anymore. Eren suspected it was because his sister clung to him too much, and he only brought bad luck in exchange. For a fleeting moment, he contemplated that maybe he should inform Levi not to hang out with him too much, or else he might end up losing his cronies and admirers.

Eren also heard rumours about some poor fools who managed to provoke Levi to en extent that he stabbed one of them with a plastic fork during lunchtime, and shoved a bar of soap into another's mouth in the showers after P.E. It seemed to him that Levi was the school's next bully in the making. And speaking of bullies…

Eren's stomach clenched as he saw the two huge boys coming opposite to him on the corridor, their voices loud and harsh to his ears. He had already given up trying to hide from them. They always managed to find him eventually. He caught himself wondering what kind of 'game' they would play on him this time, with the resignation of one already dead. Would they kick him in the stomach again until he vomited out what little he had for breakfast? Or would they flush his head in the toilet? There was no use cracking his brains about that. He would find out soon enough…

Berthold and Reiner, the two shitheads who had made sure he remembered their names by then, led him into the most abandoned and filthy men's room in the whole school. Once they were out of sight from the prying eyes, he did receive a couple of punches in his stomach, which made him double up in pain. He didn't even try to put up a fight. These giants were impossible to kill.

Even if Mikasa came to his rescue, strong as she was, he didn't believe his sister stood much chance against two strong males. And he didn't want to imagine what those two would do to Mikasa once they got their fitly hands on her. The last thing he wanted was to get Mikasa into such a situation, and have her hurt. That was why he never mentioned Berthold and Reiner to her, and kept silent about the fact that the two of them liked to use him as a punching bag every once in a while.

At that moment, Eren wouldn't have minded being dead. He felt like he was nothing more than dead weight in Mikasa's and Levi's so perfect life, anyway. It would be better for the both of them if he was gone. They would be rid of all the trouble of having to carry a useless luggage, which would only drag them down eventually…

For a moment, he was surprised at himself for thinking about Levi at a time like this. The annoying fact remained that Levi somehow kept creeping back into his mind, no matter how hard he tried to shut him out. But if Eren had had any choice as to how to spend his last moments in this world, he found he would rather have smelled Levi's soap-scent than the putrid hellhole around him. He imagined Levi's face contorting in disgust at beholding such a spectacle. Good. That was a good image to take with him to the otherworld.

'Levi, you fucking clean freak.' he thought, smiling inwardly. 'You were so wrong…'

But soon he forgot how to think, or even how to breathe, as his body reminded him of the intense pain he was in. He found himself kneeling on the dirty, broken tiles, which were wet from spilled water and urine, now mixing with drops of his own blood. Berthold gripped his head from behind, pulling at his hair to force his face up from facing the floor. Instead, he was made to stare at Reiner's crotch as the boy came up close to him and began unbuckling his belt.

'Great.' Eren thought distantly, numbness overcoming his senses, only his heart beating hard against his chest, reminding him that he was still alive. 'Why can't they just simply kill me, and get it over with?'

He was oblivious to the names they called him, their deep, taunting voices ringing distantly in his ears. He didn't even feel the humiliation anymore. He just wished that it would be over soon, the mad racing of his heart to finally come to a stop…

It took him some time to recognize a different voice, one he did not expect to hear. His frantic heart skipped a beat.

"Hey, you shitheads." a hollow voice rang out in the filthy, abandoned room. "You've made a huge mistake. You fucked with the wrong Jäger."

_That day, the terror of the Giants ended, and the rule of Levi began…_

* * *

**End Notes:** Next two chapters are currently in the making, but there's a lot of bloody violence going on, and some more serious dialogues I still have to figure out. Mostly Levi does the speaking (he really speaks a lot in this one), and it's difficult to imitate his language, due to my poor vocabulary. I'm trying my best to make a decent job, and please forgive me if some things I write are strange, I have no idea whether it sounds weird in English or not, I'm just following my instinct...


	11. Brothers-in-Arms

**Notes: **Warning for violence. I know I treat Eren harshly, and I do feel for him a lot, but this must be done... T_T Also, I copied a few things from the Levi spin-off manga (Choice Without Regrets), so there are a few spoilers for that.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**Brothers-in-Arms**

_There were times when he would run to seek shelter in those arms that were always open to him. That was when he was still weak, and did not know how to fight on his own. But in time he learned how to be strong in both body and spirit, until he became the strongest of them all. From then on, nobody could oppose him, except for one. The same one who knew all his weaknesses. The same one who taught him how to be strong._

There was nothing that irritated Levi more than having to do things twice. He took all the trouble to clean the insult from the damn locker, even got some paint to cover up the traces and the damage done to the metal surface, only to find another profanity sprayed on it, this time with large letters, clearly visible even from the end of the corridor. Levi felt the thin thread of his patience snapping at the sight.

'FUCK YOU YEAGER' it read on the door of the locker, which apparently belonged to Eren.

For a moment, Levi couldn't decide whether he was more irritated by the bad spelling or the fact that the last word extended onto his own locker door. Either way, he took it as a personal insult, and someone had to pay for it.

"Petra." he said with restrained anger. "Do you have any idea who did this?"

The girl was standing beside him, shocked speechless by the sight. Mikasa and Hanji were there, too.

"I think I know…" Mikasa said, a murderous look appearing on her face. "Berthold and Reiner, those two shitheads… I'll make them pay for this."

"No, _I_ will." Levi said with determination. "Where's Eren?"

"He went off again on his own." Mikasa replied. "Do you think…?"

She threw another, worried glance at the writing on the locker.

"I think he's in deep shit." Levi replied, confirming her suspicions.

Petra gasped in horror. Hanji let out an excited yelp.

"I have to find him!" Mikasa said, already turning to go.

"Wait." Levi called after her in his commanding tone. "Do you have any idea where he is now?"

"How about the loo?" Hanji suggested. "That's usually the place where the weak kids get beaten up by the big bad bullies, right?"

"Hanji!" Petra exclaimed, ashamed for the girl's total lack of sympathy.

"Yeah, good idea." Levi said, acknowledging that sometimes even Hanji could be quite useful. "Which one?"

"One of the gents, obviously." Hanji replied. "Like, the one downstairs, which is always out of order. I always go there to collect germ samples…"

But no-one was listening to her by now. Mikasa broke into a run towards the stairs, Levi following close behind, and Petra going after them, too. Hanji joined them, and soon they were on the abandoned corridor of the lowermost floor.

"Which direction?" Mikasa asked, not yet familiar with the layout of the school building.

"That way." Hanji pointed it out for her.

Both Mikasa and Levi started for the indicated direction, until Petra grabbed both of them by the arm.

"What are you planning to do? You can't go in there, Mikasa!" she said, both worried and appalled by their recklessness.

"She's right." Levi agreed in a cool voice. "Stay outside. I'll go in."

The pair of black eyes shot at him defiantly. Levi knew it wasn't the time for a battle of wills, especially with such a strong-minded girl as Mikasa. He had to come up with something.

"Call your teacher." he said, accepting no further protest. "I'll take care of it until he arrives."

Petra gave a last anxious tug on Levi's arm before he went off. Mikasa decided it was wisest to obey. She knew already that in crisis situations, it was best to trust Levi's level-headed judgement.

"Ooh, so exciting!" Hanji exclaimed as the two went off in different directions. "I wish I could see it to myself!"

"That's nothing to be excited over, Hanji!" Petra said indignantly, watching Levi's retreating back with worry.

"He's the ace of the school, right?" Hanji said with the same cheerful, optimistic voice. "There's no way he couldn't handle a couple of bullies. He put Erd and Gunther in their places, right? Even though he's so small…"

That wasn't consolation for Petra. She knew that their two other classmates, Erd and Gunther, only had big mouths, but she was seriously concerned about Levi getting involved with the two bullies who managed to keep the whole school in terror.

Levi headed for the abandoned loo at the far end of the corridor, sincerely hoping that the bastards would be there with Eren. He would have hated to search the whole school building for them.

'You'd better be right, Hanji, or I'll kick your ass next.' he thought as he kicked in the door, not wanting to touch the filthy handle.

Luckily for him, and unluckily for the bastards, he found the two bullies and Eren inside, just as expected. The brat was kneeling on the floor and looking miserable, held down by one huge-ass boy while the other, bulky guy was standing threateningly close to Eren's face. Levi could feel the blood rush into his head.

"Hey, you shitheads." he said, trying to restrain his anger as he stepped into the filthy room. "You've made a huge mistake. You fucked with the wrong Jäger."

The two boys turned their attention to the newcomer, obviously not expecting anyone to disturb their little game. They didn't seem to be too impressed by Levi's sudden interruption, but he didn't care. He knew that things would change soon…

"Want to join in, fucker?" the blond one called Reiner asked, beginning to walk up to him.

"Yes, I'd love to." Levi replied, not hesitating to aim a kick right between Reiner's legs while he did so. "But I won't suck. _You_ will."

As soon as Reiner doubled up in agony, Levi rushed further in. He ducked, avoiding Berthold's fist, and was soon beside Eren, dragging him to his feet.

"Stand up, you worthless shit! We have to get out of here!" he managed to say before Berthold attacked him again.

Soon, Reiner recovered, and the two of them together proved to be tough opponents even for Levi. The two huge boys also blocked the way out, so they couldn't escape unless they could somehow break an opening. Levi knew he was up to his neck in it, but he just couldn't leave Eren.

Eren, however, didn't make the slightest move to escape. His mind was in a haze. He only faintly registered what was happening around him. It seemed to him that Levi was overpowered, but he didn't really care. No-one asked him to come in there and seek trouble. It was his fault. He deserved to be beaten, if he was so stupid to come and… Why? What for? Eren couldn't understand why Levi was there, getting himself all beaten up… For his sake? That was absurd. Levi never did anything but for his own sake. That didn't make any sense…

He received an unexpected hit, and fell back on the ground, sprawled in a pool of stinking sewer water.

"For fuck's sake, fight!" Levi clearly shouted now. "Stand up and fight, you shitty-"

Reiner cut him off with a punch into his face. Eren could feel the pain with his own body as he caught the pair of grey eyes, glinting sharply and furiously. At that moment, something snapped inside him, which finally spurred him into action.

Eren threw himself on Berthold with a force he didn't even know he possessed, pinning the much larger boy to the ground and beating him with his bare fists. With one less opponent to deal with, Levi easily got the upper hand on Reiner, and managed to break free from his grasp, dealing a few painful blows in the process.

"Try hurting my family, you son of a bitch, and I'm gonna kill you! I'm gonna kill you all, fucking shit-eaters!" Eren shouted in blind anger, beating Berthold to an unconscious, bleeding pulp.

"Eren, stop it!" Levi said after a while, having dealt with his own opponent. "We're done. Let's get out of here."

He was trying to drag Eren off of the other boy, but he seemed to be in a state of frenzy.

"It's all your fault!" Eren suddenly snapped at Levi. "Why did you have to come in here? Why-?"

"I was coming to save your sorry ass, you ungrateful shit!" Levi replied, grabbing Eren's shirt and pushing him roughly against one of the toilet doors. "Now, cut the crap, or I'll have to-"

This time, Eren was quick to react, kicking Levi on the shin and using the resulting interruption to escape his grasp. They ended up wrestling on the floor, until they were separated by strong arms and were pinned down on the wet tiles, a heavy military boot resting on Eren's chest while a hand grabbed the back of Levi's neck, forcing him to the floor.

"Well, this is not quite the sight I've expected." Erwin said, his usually friendly voice now sounding intimidating. "You two will come with me to my office right now."

"Erwin…" Levi hissed through gritted teeth. "Take your hands off me, you-"

But before they could even protest, both Levi and Eren were lifted from the ground effortlessly, and were carried away from the scene, while some boys from the Scouting Club took care of the other two.

'I knew it… He's a giant.' Eren thought with a mixture of awe and terror as he hung limply under one arm, wondering how the man had the strength to carry the two of them up the flight of stairs as if they weighed nothing.

But what made him even more worried was the fact that Levi kept on calling their teacher by his first name, and he didn't understand why, or how he even got the guts to do that. He was really afraid that Levi would only make their case worse with all his talking back, and his fear wasn't ungrounded.

"Put me down, Erwin." Levi commanded, feeling humiliated as he hung helplessly from Erwin's broad shoulder, like some dead animal brought back from the hunt.

Even thought the corridor was now empty, since the next class had already begun, and even Hanji and Petra went back to their classroom, it was still humiliating.

"_I_ give the orders here." Erwin said firmly, his voice sounding threatening. "Don't think I'm incapable of dealing with you."

Once inside the office, they were seated opposite to Erwin's desk. Levi's hair was still dripping wet with the disgusting sewer water from the floor. He wanted it to be over soon, so that he could take a shower and be clean again.

"I've heard from Mikasa that there was some trouble brewing in the downstairs men's room, but I didn't expect that it would be the two of you." Erwin began, measuring them up with a disapproving glance.

"Since you didn't show up earlier, I took care of the bad guys myself." Levi said evenly.

"Not without _my_ help." Eren corrected him.

"Glad to hear that, but that's not the point here." Erwin said with a stern expression. "We have two seriously injured students, and other two who seem to be in an equally bad shape, but still feeling well enough to talk back to their superior."

Eren shut up immediately. Levi stared back at Erwin defiantly.

"If the circumstances had been different, I would have congratulated you on taking down such great opponents, who also happened to be the two most troublesome bullies in school, as far as I know." Erwin said thoughtfully. "Maybe I'd even have rewarded you with some feathers..."

Eren and Levi exchanged a quick, confused glance, until they remembered that he was probably talking about some Scouting Club thing again.

"…But it was going way too far. What you've done is clearly unpardonable." Erwin went on, resuming his stern expression. "I have to write a report to your parents, with a detailed description of the events, which you'll be kind enough to provide me in a moment."

Eren went pale. Levi only made an irritated sound. Even though it appeared as if he couldn't care less, the fact was they were both afraid of Carla's reaction. Neither of them wanted to go through the same tedious procedure of being scolded by their mother again.

"Well?" Erwin raised his eyebrows, poising his pen above a piece of blank paper expectantly.

The two boys remained silent. Green eyes cast down in shame, grey ones looking back at him evenly.

"Don't think I'm unaware of the incidents that happened in the canteen and the showers, Levi." Erwin said meaningfully. "I can add up a nice long report on my own if you're so unwilling to talk."

While Levi put on an expression of utter indifference, Eren seemed to be nervous, and Erwin noticed that.

"You seem to be a troublesome bunch." Erwin remarked, looking at them thoughtfully. "Maybe even adventurous? In that case, I think I know exactly what to do with the two of you..."

Levi slightly narrowed his eyes, looking at him suspiciously.

"How about making a deal with me?" Erwin suddenly asked.

Eren jumped slightly in his seat. The offer sounded ominous enough, but whatever the man had in mind, he guessed it was still way better than what was waiting for them at home when Carla read the report.

"State your conditions." Levi said, playing on his chair in a bored manner.

"You both agree to join the Scouting Club right now, and we forget the whole unpleasant business." Erwin offered. "Or, should you refuse, I'm afraid I'll have to interrogate you until you provide sufficient information for the report, which I'd have to pass on to the Director as well."

'Shit, how can the man blackmail us like that?' Eren thought. 'Isn't it abuse of power, or something like that?'

The last thing he wanted was to join the Scouting Club, whatever it really was. But then again, he wouldn't have wanted to be kicked out of school again, so he couldn't see any other options.

'You sly bastard, I should have expected it was one of your traps…' Levi thought, but aloud he simply said: "Fine."

Erwin was training his icy blue eyes on Eren, waiting for a response.

"I'll join the Scouting Club, sir." Eren replied at last, finding that it was his only chance for survival.

Erwin's signature smile appeared on his face immediately. He opened a drawer, and took out two application forms, evidently prepared beforehand for unsuspecting future recruits. He put one form before each boy, and waited for them to sign. Levi took up the pen, and scribbled his name on the indicated space, not forgetting to put 'Jäger' at the end, then passed the pen to Eren, who signed his own with shaky hands.

"You can tell your parents that you got into a brotherly fight over some lassie on the way home, or whatever tale you wish." Erwin suggested. "Now, go to the infirmary, and get your wounds treated. You're dismissed for the day."

"Yes, sir!" Eren sprang up, relieved that it was finally over.

Levi got up from his chair, making sure it made an unpleasant scraping sound as he did so.

"And just a reminder, Levi…" Erwin called after him. "From now on, you may address me as 'Commander', or 'Mr Smith.' Show some respect to your superiors. I won't be lenient on your insubordination again."

'Commander, my ass…' Levi thought, deciding not to say a word out loud. 'Get off your high horse.'

They were escorted out of the room by a tall boy from fourth grade, another member of the Scouting Club, who kept on smelling them, and Levi didn't like it the least, since he knew he must have smelled like a cesspit. However, he didn't let any of his annoyance show, at least not until they were finally out of Erwin's office.

Under the surface of calm indifference, Levi was really furious. The last thing he wanted was to be a pawn in Erwin's hands, but the man still managed to reach his goal, and in such an underhanded manner. Deep down, Levi knew that he would have volunteered eventually, of his own will, since he wanted every excuse to be near him. But now, his freedom of choice taken from him, Levi was angry beyond words. He would not easily forget that day.

_Only one man had the power to oppose him. And that was because he was his greatest weakness…_

* * *

**End Notes:** Erwin is one of my favourite characters from the manga/anime, but it's so difficult to write about him. I'll try, though, but he might turn out to be really different... Also, I have to figure out a couple of things about Levi's and Eren's past until I can go on with the story. I won't promise the next chapter will be up soon. :( Thank you for all your kind reviews so far, I really appreciate them.


	12. Break, then Repair

**Notes: **I struggled a lot with this chapter, but I guess I deserve all the suffering and hate in the world for making Eren get hurt like that. T-T Again, I'm really sorry. More violence.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**Break, then Repair**

_Some parasitic birds lay their eggs in the nest of other species, leaving their offsprings behind to be brought up by the unknowing foster parents. Once hatched, the nestlings of these parasitic birds quickly claim all the attention of the unsuspecting parent birds._

The tall boy called Mike led Eren and Levi towards the infirmary, making sure they didn't try to cause any more trouble. The two of them already felt like prisoners.

"I've brought another two, Miss Rico." Mike called when they entered the small room.

The woman with an unfriendly look gave them a stern glance from behind her glasses, evidently not the least happy about the arrival of new patients when she was already so busy.

"I already have my hands full with these two." she complained, resuming her treatment of Berthold's injuries. "Wait for your turn."

Eren collapsed on the only vacant bed. Levi went to the sink, and washed his face and hair, rinsing it many times before drying himself on a towel he hoped was cleaner than his shirt.

"Fuck this shit, I need a proper bath…" he complained, throwing down the towel irritably. "I'm gonna make Erwin pay for this…"

But even as he was still grumbling, he went to the medical cabinet and got out some bandages, plasters and disinfectant. The nurse's eyes followed him with a sharp, unfriendly gaze.

"I know how to do this, okay?" Levi reassured her, being equally unfriendly.

The woman only shrugged. It was quite obvious that she hated her job, and Levi couldn't blame her. It was filthy, disgusting and troublesome, patching up the injured bodies, and he hated to touch people. But what had to be done, had to be done.

He sat down beside Eren, and began treating the boy's numerous wounds. Once Levi was done disinfecting the bleeding cuts on his face, he went to remove Eren's shirt to reveal a couple of nasty bruises. His face contorted at the thought that he probably looked just like that under his own shirt, which got bloodstained and completely ruined again. But he would worry about himself later…

"Hurts?" he asked, seeing that Eren flinched when he tried to check for any broken ribs.

"No, but your hand is cold." Eren replied.

"Look who's the fucking delicate princess now." Levi said scornfully.

Eren didn't even respond to the insult.

When Levi finished with Eren, he went over to treat Reiner, grumbling and cursing all along.

"You still have to scrub that crap from the locker." he reminded the boy in a deadly voice. "Don't think I forgot that."

Even so, he did a decent job on treating Reiner's wounds, which were mainly caused by Levi himself. In the end, he even managed to make the uncaring nurse impressed.

"We're done here." Levi announced once he finished. "Let's go home."

He dragged Eren to his feet and out of the room.

"What about your wounds?" the nurse called after him.

"I'm all right." Levi replied. "I only need a bath."

The two boys went home in silence. Levi usually didn't like talking, only lately did it become his habit to run his mouth so much. Still, he found it irritating that the brat refused to say a word to him, even when he asked about what they should tell Carla, how to explain why her sons were in such a shitty shape again. Levi knew they had to make up a plausible enough story, one they could feed her easily, but Eren refused to cooperate.

Since they got home early, there was no-one home yet. Eren dragged himself inside like a zombie, not even bothering to remove his boots. Levi followed him right in, out of patience.

"Are you even listening to me, brat?" he said, grabbing Eren by the arm.

Eren remained limp and unresponding. Levi didn't like the way he was looking, his eyes dull and staring vacantly into space.

"What's your problem, you useless piece of shit?" Levi asked, shaking him and hoping that he could elicit some reaction with the verbal abuse. "Talk to me."

Eren only opened his mouth to take in a ragged breath.

"I've had enough of this life…" Eren said after a while, his voice sounding weak. "I just want it to be over…"

Levi's eyes widened as he took in the meaning behind those words.

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked sharply. "If you can't take it, just change it."

"I can't." Eren breathed out. "It's just too much…"

Levi was losing patience. He, too, had already had enough of Eren's petty, self-pitying drama.

"You and your shitty teenage problems." Levi said dismissively. "Those are all bullshit, nothing you can't survive."

No response.

"Imagine a world where real giants exist, and you have to fight each day not get devoured by them, or to protect those you care for. Real, bloody struggle, each fucking day. _That_ would be a real shitty life." Levi went on. "Compared to that, you live in Paradise! Here, you have everything, you spoiled, damn brat!"

Levi was beginning to pace restlessly in the room.

"A home, a family! An indulgent father, ready to turn a blind eye on all your bullshit. A scary mother who could suffocate you with her love. A wonderful sister you don't even deserve. What would become of them once you're gone? You get all the love in the world from them, yet, you're an ungrateful piece of shit."

The fact that Eren didn't make the slightest response really made him lose his cool.

"You really annoy the shit out of me with all your crap, you know that? You say you can't take it anymore? Fuck you, Eren." he swore with utmost disgust. "You know nothing about real suffering. But I can give you a painful lesson, if that's what you're asking for. I can make your life hell, and then you can complain. Do you want that?"

"I don't care anymore..." Eren replied lifelessly.

"Fine." Levi said, his very last strand of patience snapping. "Get down on your knees."

Levi pushed Eren down effortlessly, meeting no resistance at all. He wasn't too keen on doing that, but he saw no other option, and he didn't care anymore what harsh methods he had to use in order to open up his eyes.

"You can finish the job you began." Levi said, tangling his fingers into Eren's hair and gripping hard, pushing his hips right in front of the boy's face. "I won't complain."

The grey eyes that looked down on him were cruel. Eren could see that Levi was serious. He swallowed hard as he watched Levi's hand slowly moving to unbutton his pants, and began to wonder whether it would be like taking a bar of disgusting soap into his mouth. Not that he really cared…

But in the end, he never found out.

"Shit…" Eren heard Levi swear in a low voice.

Levi released his hair and stepped back from him, only to land a well-aimed kick on his face. Eren flew back onto the floor, his head throbbing and his brains shaken.

"You're too damn disgusting. I can't even bring myself to fuck you." Levi said, adjusting back his clothing. "You said you hated me. But do you even know why? Because I came in ruining your oh-so-perfect life?"

He pushed his boot to Eren's head, grinding his face into the rug, disregarding the pitiful whining sound the boy made.

"You know what? I think you just have to hate someone because you can't face the fact that you really hate yourself for being the pathetic worthless shit you are. I don't care if you put the blame on me for all the wrongs that ever happened to you. But no matter how bad it gets, the least you can do is fight. Fight whatever stands between you and what you want to achieve. Just fight, damn it."

Levi was really tired of having to spout out so many words, as if he had verbal diarrhoea. He felt like he had never spoken so much in his entire life before. But at least he got rid of all that weighed on his mind. He didn't care if it didn't make any sense at all, and he wasn't sure whether half of it went through that thick skull and into that tiny little brain. But at least he had spoken his share. That was the most he could do.

"Get a life." he said tiredly. "A _normal_ life. Find a girlfriend. A boyfriend. Whatever."

He bent down, close to Eren's face.

"Just fucking _change_." Levi hissed at him before he withdrew.

He went back to the front hall to remove his boots, cursing all the way, and only came back to throw a last condescending glance at Eren.

"Clean yourself up." Levi said with utmost disgust and disappointment. "Mom will be home soon."

He left Eren lying sprawled on the rug, a pitiful heap of human garbage. Eren could taste the blood in his mouth, and his whole body was aching after the day's incidents. He closed his eyes and tried to collect his scattered thoughts.

'Whatever stands between me and what I want…' he contemplated, his thoughts finally getting back into place. 'I don't even know what I want. I don't even know why I hate you so much. Maybe you're right. Maybe I just hate myself, because I can't change. But you…'

He struggled up to a sitting position.

'Just who the hell are you, Levi?' he wondered, getting up to his feet and going to wash himself at the kitchen sink.

He realized that he needed a proper bath, so he headed for the bathroom. He forgot that Levi was probably there, and he went in without asking. Levi was drying his hair on a towel, looking a bit surprised at seeing him.

"I see." Levi spoke, measuring him up from head to toe. "So finally you're back from the dead."

"Yeah." Eren replied, his voice still weak, but more lively than before.

Levi came up close to him, extending a hand towards his face. Eren instinctively shrank back at the gesture, but Levi was only touching his face like he was inspecting something on it.

"I've already checked for broken teeth." Eren said quickly. "I couldn't find any."

"Good boy." Levi complimented, then his features slightly contorted in disgust.

He suddenly remembered that he touched Eren while the boy was still dirty and bloody, so he went quickly to wash his hand.

"Are you always like that?" Eren asked, observing Levi's strange behaviour. "You beat people up really badly, then you come checking up on them, like some kind and caring nurse?"

"Don't think I enjoy any of it." Levi replied, soaping his hands vigorously. "And I don't really care."

"Still, I don't understand." Eren said, utterly puzzled. "Why-?"

"Because I feel guilty for hurting a face with such pretty green eyes." Levi admitted, which was true in a way, but even he himself couldn't fully understand why, so he added: "Even though they belong to an ungrateful brat."

"Stop calling me names." Eren said indignantly. "You just call me 'Eren' if you must."

"I'm really sorry for hurting your face, _Eren_." Levi said, emphasizing the last word, then adding: "And you can call me 'brother', if you so please."

"As if." Eren said, rolling his eyes.

"Well, you did say an interesting thing back there…" Levi remarked, recalling the events in that dirty loo. "I remember you saying something like 'try to hurt my _family_, and I'm gonna kill you all', right before you went berserk. Is that how you feel about me now?"

Eren's face went bright red. He couldn't really remember what he was doing, let alone what he was saying at that time.

"I was thinking about Mikasa when I said that…" he finally said.

"What about little sister?" Levi asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

"I really didn't want her to get involved. I was afraid that they might hurt her. That they…" Eren couldn't finish, the mere thought was too terrible for him.

Levi could easily guess what he was thinking of.

"Did they hurt _you_ in that way?" he inquired.

"Hell, no." Eren replied quickly. "I'd be dead by now if they did."

"Yeah, probably." Levi agreed, wiping back the wet hair from his face. "Well, that's a good thing."

As Levi was still drying himself after a shower, Eren's eyes involuntarily fell on something he knew he shouldn't be staring at. He quickly looked away. Yet, he couldn't help but note that he was lucky that in the end Levi found him way below his standards. Was he even serious when he said _that_ to him?

"Well, I guess we got rid of the bad guys for good…" Levi spoke again, but Eren wasn't really listening.

'Holy shit, why is my heart suddenly racing like that?' Eren thought, an unpleasant feeling creeping into his stomach. 'I think I might be sick, or faint for loss of blood…'

"Life has its ups and downs, I acknowledge that." Levi went on in his usual monotone. "But don't you dare giving me that crap again about wanting it to end. Remember, your life doesn't belong to you alone. Think about all the other people who're part of your life. You're part of their lives, too. Maybe an irreplaceable one. If you see no use in living, instead of just throwing your life away, the least you can do is live for those you still care for."

"What?" Eren asked, suddenly dragged back to reality, his mind slowly registering what he had just heard.

"You weren't listening, were you?" Levi said, clearly irritated. "And here I am, running my mouth to deaf ears. You really don't worth the effort."

"I'm really sorry that you feel I'm so unworthy of you." Eren said without really thinking. "And it's really hard to listen when it's so hot in here. And I want to shower, too."

"That's a very good idea, you filthy brat." Levi approved, preparing to leave.

"Levi." Eren called after him. "Don't walk around the house like _that_. Mikasa will be home soon."

Annoying as he was, in the end Eren had to admit that Levi was right. He couldn't just disappear without consequences to his family. He felt ashamed of ever harbouring such thoughts. It made him angry that it took Levi and his harsh methods to remind him of what was still important to him. What was worth living for…

'A family, huh…' Levi mused, once in his room, dressed in clean clothes and finally feeling comfortable.

He was looking at the bird feeder on the tree right in front of his window, and caught himself wondering about things that had never crossed his mind before. Or not for a long, long time…

Can a bird change its feathers? Can a cuckoo build a nest? Can he give, instead of just taking away? Can he ever belong to anywhere, to anyone?

'Why did you have to put such ideas into my head?' he wondered, absent-mindedly stroking the spine of a heavy-looking book. 'They make me want to change…'

_While the parasite bird demands to be fed all the time and grows fat and strong, the other nestlings are completely neglected. They become weak, and die eventually, or end up being devoured by the strongest 'sibling'. Only the odd one out survives…_

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**End Notes:** This chapter is really awkwardly put together, and I'm really embarrassed by it on the whole. I got stuck with writing, so I have to get down to reading in order to improve my language and writing skills... I'll be back sometime.


	13. My Type of Girl

**Notes: **Thank you so much for your comments and reviews! Even if it's just a few words, they really inspire me.

I was really stuck with this chapter, and I'm sorry if it's embarrassing because of all the girls&boys thing. The previous chapter got too long, and I had to clip the ending, so it ended up being a separate chapter, with some additions. I also planned to write the gym scene for a long time, just to introduce another character (guess who makes a brief appearance), and since I'm a great fan of the anime Free!, there's some water time, too. Imagine Eren and/or Levi at the pools. Or don't, as you see fit...

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**Chapter 13**

**My Type of Girl**

_He lost ground from under his feet. He was falling, against his will. No matter how hard he tried to struggle against the force that kept dragging him down, the sensation of falling continued. He did not know where and when he would eventually land. The thought of having to face the unknown left him with fear._

Eren and Levi couldn't escape what fate had in sore for them.

Once Carla and the doctor came home, it was the same old routine all over again. Carla shouted their heads off, while the doctor watched on silently, only contributing his opinion once in a while.

"Don't think I've already forgotten the last incident, young man!" Carla shrieked, directing her words at her biological son. "And now, you did it again!"

Levi decided to go along Erwin's suggestion, and he sincerely hoped that this time Eren would be more cooperative.

"Yeah, sorry, Mom." Levi began. "We got into a fight about a girl, but we already sorted it out."

"By fighting it off?" their mother asked indignantly, turning her angry gaze to Levi. "Is it really the only way you two can sort the matter out?"

"Boys, Carla." their father put in forbearingly. "Young roebucks. It's only natural."

"I never imagined that boys could be so troublesome!" Carla huffed. "But if it's about a girl, well, then… Maybe you should invite her once, and introduce her properly. What did you say her name was?"

Since none of them was quite sure whom she asked, both of them answered:

"Hanji." Eren said the first girl name he remembered from school, and he only recalled it because it was so strange.

"Petra." Levi replied the same time as Eren did.

Their mother looked at them with a puzzled expression.

"See, Mom, it was a misunderstanding." Levi explained in a bored voice. "We already cleared it up. Eren could keep Hanji, and Petra is mine. As simple as that."

'Boys. So typical...' Mikasa rolled her eyes, deciding not to give voice to her opinion. 'As if girls were some booty to be divided.'

She was sitting on the armrest of the couch, observing the now all too familiar scene unfold before her eyes. Even though she knew it was an act on her brothers' part in order to cover up for some more serious trouble, she still found the remark irritating.

"Well, in that case, both Hanji and Petra are welcome here." their mother said, pacified a bit. "But you really should learn how to behave, Eren. I don't want to be embarrassed for you in front of your girlfriend. Maybe your father can give you a couple of advice on how to treat girls nicely."

"Well, Carla, I think it's high time to provide the young ones with some education on the matter of boys and girls." their father smiled kindly.

Eren stiffened, feeling his face becoming hot.

"Oh, well…" their mother sighed, looking concerned. "I guess they're not my babies anymore… But still, isn't it a bit early, darling?"

"Believe me, it's the right time." the doctor said in a reassuring voice. "Mikasa, you may join, too, if you wish."

He opened the door to his study, inviting the three of them in for a talk, which promised to be a rather long one.

"Next time, Father." Eren said quickly, wanting to avoid the embarrassment of having to listen to his father talk about the matter of boys and girls, and flowers and bees, and all that in great and meticulous detail.

And Levi's presence just made the whole unpleasant business even more embarrassing. He probably already knew all that stuff, anyway. As for himself, Eren wasn't quite sure. The only thing he knew at that moment that it was definitely not the right time for him to discuss such matters. Boys and girls. It sounded complicated. It sounded confusing…

"I still have some homework to do, so…" Eren said in a nervous voice, edging towards the stairs.

"Finally you understand how important schoolwork is!" his mother called to him. "You really worry me, Eren. But go and study."

His mother waved at him dismissively, and Eren was glad to escape down to his room. Somehow he knew that he would receive most of the scolding. But at least they were off the hook.

Eren retreated to his basement room, not the least intent on doing homework. He opened up his notes half-heartedly, scribbling absent-mindedly on the edge of the paper while staring vacantly onto the page, not understanding a single word he was reading, and not even able to fully decipher his own handwriting.

After a while, Levi came down, holding a cardboard box in his hands. At least some diversion from the tedious task of having to pretend studying…

"Some of your trash." Levi said, dumping the box on Eren's bed. "You can have it now. You might even need it. And don't forget to clean up the mess when you finished."

A quick glance at the contents told Eren that it was mostly porn mags – the ones he hid under the mattress of his bed – and there was a box of tissues, too. A considerate gift from Levi.

"Wouldn't have guessed you had a fetish for maids." Levi remarked, causing the younger boy to blush in embarrassment.

Levi sat down on Eren's bed, casually picking up a magazine and flipping it through with a bored glance.

"Nice dresses." he said in his usual, unimpressed voice. "Try to imagine them on Hanji."

"Why did you have to say that to Mom?" Eren burst out, despairing that his mother now believed that he was madly in love with Hanji, who was as mad as a hatter herself.

"_You_ mentioned her name in front of Mom." Levi reminded him. "I was quite surprised that from all the nice chicks in school, you'd pick that crazy glasses."

"They come nowhere near to Mikasa…" the words slipped from Eren's mouth before he knew it.

"You're right." Levi agreed, dropping the magazine back into the box. "Little sister is the fairest of them all."

"Stop talking about Mikasa like that." Eren said, feeling agitated by Levi's remark.

"I was only complimenting on her beauty as a proud elder brother." Levi shrugged, leaning back against the wall.

"I warn you. Don't even try to get close to Mikasa." Eren said in a threatening voice.

"Or else? You beat me to a pulp?" Levi asked in a challenging tone.

"Yeah." Eren said, his expression quite determined.

"Good." Levi said, finding the answer satisfying enough. "I still think you're worthless, but you might have some use, after all."

Eren didn't really know what he meant by saying that.

"Take my advice." Levi said, finally getting up from Eren's bed. "Get hooked up with some nice girl. Maybe you could hit on Hanji."

Eren rolled his eyes, feeling a sudden urge to throw the cardboard box with all its contents at Levi's retreating back.

Even though he was finally rid of the bullies, next day in school was awful as always. Eren couldn't get things out of his head: all what Levi was saying to him the previous day kept on returning to his mind. He didn't expect Levi to talk so much, and he would usually pay little attention to what he was actually saying. Yet, Levi's words still managed to weigh on his mind, influencing his thoughts, and he wasn't sure he liked that.

Eren was resting his head on the desk, pretending to take a quick nap before classes began. But in fact he was watching his sister Mikasa talking and laughing with some girls in the classroom. Even though all the students wore the same uniform and looked quite alike, Mikasa somehow stood out from the rest of them with her almond-shaped dark eyes, beautiful, long raven hair, and her perfect, white skin. Eren recalled the first time he saw her, a small girl lying in a huge bed, eyes closed, like a sleeping fairy-tale princess…

He shook his head to dissolve the image. He didn't want the memory to resurface. It was a time he would rather not recall. Instead, he kept on observing his female classmates, wondering why there was none who really caught his eyes.

'Girls… Girls…' Eren thought, sprawled on his desk, until something unpleasant blocked his vision.

He immediately sat up straight to meet a pair of sharp grey eyes.

"Levi, what the hell are you doing here?" Eren asked, not expecting him to appear out of nowhere.

"I came here to ask you, brat, whether you feel well enough to join me in the sports centre after school." Levi said stiffly.

"What?" Eren said, not expecting such request, and completely forgetting that they were even supposed to go there.

"Mikasa wants to go to the gym. I prefer the pools." Levi explained with a clearly exasperated look, leaning on the desk, threateningly close to Eren. "Would you join me, or Mikasa? Choose now."

"Wait, what?" Eren asked, his mind slowly processing the question.

"Pool or gym." Levi repeated, out of patience. "Choose."

"Pool." Eren replied.

Under pressure of having to choose quickly, and overwhelmed by Levi's intimidating presence, he didn't realize immediately that he had effectively chosen Levi over his sister.

'Shit.' he thought.

But in the end he found that the pools were a better choice – even if he had to go with Levi – because it was easier to slack off in the water, pretending he was swimming. But it also meant he had to wear his swimming trunks, and Levi would be wearing some kind of swimsuit, too, and…

'Fuck.' he mentally cursed, checking his thoughts that threatened to go wild.

"Good. Here's your stuff." Levi said, placing a sports bag before him on the desk. "Right after school. You, me, and little sister. A wonderful family afternoon in the sports centre."

The way he said that wasn't really convincing.

"Great." Eren heaved a resigned sigh.

Going to the sports centre was a bad idea. But their mother insisted. They had to keep putting it off until the cuts on Eren's hands were healed, and after he recovered from the painful lesson he had received from Levi, right after being treated really badly by two huge-ass bullies. Now Eren had no excuses left to avoid the promised visit to the sports centre with Mikasa and Levi.

Once they were in the men's changing room, Eren felt really awkward. He hated to undress in front of other people, and for the same reason, he hated P.E. lessons and other sports-related stuff. And he hated that he had to come here with Levi, who was just like Mikasa, only he had…

Eren shook his head to get rid of all the strange thoughts racing in his head.

Levi was already swimming in the pool when Eren finally finished changing. He took his time fumbling with his clothes just not to have to undress in front of Levi. He really hated his nasty remarks, and wanted none of them. It was bad enough that he had to wear swimming trunks, and show off his not so impressive upper body, and the lack of any visible muscles on his abdomen.

Eren slipped in the water rather reluctantly. It was cold and unpleasantly chlorine-smelling, and he couldn't feel the floor under his feet. But he had to move if he didn't want to freeze. He knew he wasn't a good swimmer, so he only splashed around, until Levi swam up to him, with a disapproving frown.

"What's this pathetic struggling, brat?" he asked. "You don't know how to swim?"

"I know how to swim." Eren replied indignantly. "I was only warming up."

"Go swim a few laps, then." Levi said. "I don't want to see you slacking off, or I'd have to tell Mom about it."

Eren rolled his eyes, and began swimming grudgingly. His technique was bad, so he got tired easily. And he kept getting the water into his nose, and it was making him mad.

When he felt his untrained muscles screaming for him to stop, he let it off, struggling to the edge of the pool, breathless and completely exhausted. Levi was already standing at the edge, extending a hand towards him. Small droplets of water kept dripping from his wet hair and slide down on his small but trained body, which Eren didn't want to stare at, but just couldn't help looking.

'Fuck, Levi, why do you have to look so perfect even like this? Like some fucking water god…' Eren thought, envious but unwilling to admit.

"Get out." Levi said, looking down on Eren with the same, condescending glance. "I'm beginning to get seriously concerned about you drowning."

Eren wouldn't let Levi help him out of the water. He struggled until he was finally out, sitting at the edge of the pool and trying not to gasp for air like a fish out of water.

"Your form is terrible. You swim like a dog that misses a few limbs." Levi commented on Eren's poor swimming skills. "I think you should work on it."

"And I think you should just fuck off." Eren managed to say, still trying to catch his breath.

"I can teach you." Levi offered, deciding to ignore his brother's rather rude remark. "What do you say?"

"Yeah, sure…" Eren grumbled under his nose.

"I take it as a 'yes'." Levi said firmly, sitting down beside Eren. "Next time. Back to the basics."

Eren was too tired even to protest. But after a while, he felt really awkward, sitting with Levi like that. The silence was unbearable, yet, talking was even more embarrassing. Levi tended to talk a lot lately, and what he said would usually make Eren feel rather uncomfortable.

"So, have you considered taking my advice?" Levi asked conversationally. "About a girlfriend?"

"Take your own advice." Eren snapped back at him.

"I'm on it, brat." Levi assured him. "Let's talk about _you_."

"What about me?" Eren asked, kicking the water irritably with his feet.

"You and Hanji, maybe?" Levi suggested.

"Not a chance." Eren said firmly. "She's totally not my type."

"What is your type, then?" Levi went on inquiring. "We've already established that you have a maid fetish and a sister complex. What kind of girls do you like, other than Mikasa in a maid dress?"

"I've told you to stop talking about Mikasa like that." Eren said, ready to drown Levi in the pool without a guilty conscience.

"Just answer the damn question." the grey eyes shot back at him.

"I just don't know, okay?" Eren shrugged, hoping that Levi would eventually give up on the topic; but he didn't.

"Boobs or butts?" Levi suddenly asked.

"Seriously, Levi, do you really have to be so vulgar about it?" Eren replied indignantly, his face flushing.

"That was a very relevant question." Levi said calmly, adding as an afterthought: "As for myself, I prefer nice asses."

"I really didn't want to know about that." Eren said, feeling his face go really hot.

"You don't have to be afraid for yours." Levi said with a look that just failed to be reassuring. "However, I can see a nice one right there."

Levi directed Eren's gaze towards the glass wall that separated the gym from the pools. A small, but strong-looking girl was practicing her punches on a punching bag. Eren looked at her for a while, trying to figure out why she looked so familiar to him.

"That's… Annie?" he said in a low voice, a bit surprised to see the girl there.

"You know the chick?" Levi asked, slightly intrigued. "Then go talk to her."

"Like hell." Eren said promptly. "I haven't seen her for a while. Maybe she doesn't even remember me."

"You don't feel confident, brat?" Levi said, scrutinizing him closely, his impassive eyes not missing the slightest change in Eren's expression.

"Why should I feel confident?" Eren snapped, really annoyed by Levi's continuous asking.

"So you don't, huh." Levi concluded. "Does it have anything to do with the scars on your arm and leg?"

Levi was intrigued by those scars for some time, but he found it was a big mistake to mention them, and he noticed that immediately as Eren brought his arms around himself defensively, covering the rather large scar on his left arm.

"I think you shouldn't worry about that…" Levi said in an unusually soft voice, which only made Eren even more upset.

"What do you even know? You're just fucking perfect." Eren blurted out, then realized it came out rather strange, so he quickly added. "But you're fucking short, too."

"Say that again, and you're dead." Levi said, resuming his deadly tone and sharp glance. "By the way, if you weren't such a lazy sloth, you could build up a couple of muscles on your pathetic body, and maybe get more confident with your looks. You know, if you don't have brains, at least have some looks. Fortunately for me, I have both."

"You really don't need a confidence boost, huh." Eren remarked. "And you're just fucking annoying."

"No, I'm serious." Levi said, his face thoughtful. "You don't look half bad on the whole, and fuck those scars... Your eyes have a nice colour, only your face tends to look like you really want to take a shit but just can't. And as I said, your body is unimpressive. You have the potential for becoming quite decent, you just have to get your lazy ass up and work on it."

"Thanks, Levi." Eren said with an exasperated sigh. "One can always count on you to say such kind things."

"You're welcome, brat." Levi said, sliding into the water. "I'm off swimming a few more laps. I'd challenge you to a race, but you're not up to it the way you are now."

Eren was tired of Levi constantly reminding him of how inferior he was compared to the elder boy. Yet, what Levi said somehow also made him want to change. Eren was always afraid of changes, but now, as he sat there at the edge of the pool, watching Levi glide gracefully and effortlessly in the water, Eren found that he felt just a little bit more curious than afraid.

_My type of girl, huh… The reason I couldn't answer was because it was an invalid question. I was already falling…_

* * *

**End Notes: **  
1  
Poor Eren is a bit confused. I think he's falling down the rabbit hole, into a world of fantasies. Or just simply going mad...

I really apologize to those of you who wanted to read an EreRi fic, but didn't get it from this story. I know it's nowhere near, and I'm also sorry if some of you don't like the idea of Eren having romantic feelings for Levi. What I can say now is that while I plan to include a few episodes suggesting that there's something more than just brotherly love between them, ultimately I don't want this story to be just about the two of them, and going all fluffy and smutty. I just want to explore the bonds between the characters, as they develop.

2  
I think that Corporal Levi in the manga/anime is really a kind and caring person under the mask of indifference. I want to write about a Levi who is just like that. Harsh, but caring at the same time. He's not indifferent to other people. That would be too cruel. And the Eren in this story really needs a confidence boost, because he has a perfect sister and brother, and he just feels useless now...


	14. An Unheroic Task

**Notes: **I'll make my excuses in PMs, if there are any problems you find with this story.  
Questions/Comments are always welcome. :)  
Warning: mild violence and foul language

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**An Unheroic Task**

_Hercules was one of humanity's greatest heroes, but even he had to do some shitty chores every once in a while, like clearing out a dung-filled stable. There was a disgustingly rich king called Augeas, who had a lot of cattle, which meant a lot of filthy shit in the stables, accumulated for over thirty years. Fucking heaps of them. Still, Hercules agreed to do the dirty job in a single day. Since he was a mighty hero, instead of shovelling dung in the stinking stables all day, he broke two openings in the stone walls of the yard and let in the waters of the nearby rivers. That way, the water came in through one hole, and all the filthy mess flowed out on the other hole. Like flushing a damn loo, as simple as that. But that was like cheating, and he even demanded a reward, but Augeas refused to pay him, so Hercules killed him on the spot._

'Goodbye to the peaceful family weekends…' Eren thought with resignation, leaning on a rake and heaving a heavy sigh.

It was still early in the morning, and he was standing outside in their back garden, grumbling about the chilly weather and the fact that his mother made him clear up the fallen leaves as a way of punishment. He was stuffing the dead leaves and fallen twigs into a big garbage bag, and he grimaced at the occasional dead bird he kept on finding here and there in the garden.

'Why do they have to come here to die?' he wondered, upset by the sight of torn-out feathers and the bloody mess that remained from the body.

Only later did it occur to him that it might have been a cat that hunted them down, played with them, then left them lying there in such a disgusting mess.

"Ugh." he let out a disgusted sound, poking the remains with the tip of his shoe.

He wasn't sure whether he was even supposed to touch it. It might carry some nasty disease. He would have to ask advice from Levi as to how to dispose of them properly.

Eren felt really tired of all the raking and leaning down to pick up stuff. He needed a break. He took out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his baggy sweatpants, the one he was usually wearing for home. He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the smoke, then exhaling slowly, until he heard Mikasa's voice and almost choked.

"Eren, do you need help?" she asked. "We've finished on our end."

Eren quickly threw away the cigarette, waving the smoke fanatically with a hand.

'Of course you have.' he thought between violent coughs. 'You two got the front yard, and I have to do this huge garden all on my own. That's not fair.'

But he couldn't say a word. His eyes began to water.

"Eren!" Mikasa cried, coming up to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." Eren said, not very convincingly. "Maybe I got a nasty cold for having to be out in such weather. Do you think I can go back in now?"

Mikasa was looking at him and his unfinished work with a disapproving glance, evidently not convinced by Eren's little act of trying to appear pitiful, like a reprimanded dog.

Soon, however, her eyes went wide as she kept on staring at something behind her brother. Eren could hear a faint crackling, and smell the scent of smoke.

"Holy shit, a fire!" Mikasa exclaimed. "Eren, what have you done?"

"I didn't do anything!" Eren snapped back at her angrily.

Hearing their panicking voices, Levi came around the house, too.

"Levi! Do something!" Mikasa said, turning to him imploringly. "Eren set fire to the leaves, and we're all gonna burn…!"

Levi only kept on observing the scene with a look of ennui on his face.

"Don't shit yourselves, it's just some fire." he said, watching the flames without the least concern. "Piss on it and it's gone. Like magic."

"Levi!" Mikasa said in a panicking, but urgent tone.

Levi only rolled his eyes in annoyance, but he went up to the small heap of burning leaves, and kicked some dirt on the fire, stomping out the rest of the flames with his boots.

"Here." he said. "Say thanks to the hero of the day."

Mikasa heaved a relieved sigh, thanking him, while Eren only snorted.

Levi turned his back on them to leave, when the back door suddenly burst open, and Carla rushed out of the house, evidently hearing their panicking shouts.

"Someone's in deep shit." Levi remarked. "Not us, though. Let's go, Mikasa."

Carla went right up to Eren, an accusing look on her face.

"Eren Jäger, what have you done this time?" she demanded. "What was that commotion just now?"

"We were only playing a game…" Mikasa began to lie automatically in order to protect Eren, but their mother couldn't be deceived this time.

"Do I smell smoke on you, young man?" Carla asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, but it's-"

"Were you smoking?" Carla cut him in sharply.

"No." Eren lied.

"Empty your pockets. Right now." his mother demanded, and Eren obeyed with a heavy sigh, pulling out the pack of cigarettes and the lighter from his pocket.

Carla's eyes went wide, her face flushing with anger.

"Even though you know that I absolutely don't tolerate smoking in this house…!" she gasped.

"I was smoking outside." Eren talked back, which earned him a painful pinch on the earlobe.

"Just how long have you been doing this behind my back?" Carla demanded. "And don't you even try lying to me again!"

"I only did it this once." Eren admitted, his ears hurting. "I just wanted to try it, that's all."

"Well, I hope you've found it unpleasant enough never to do it again." Carla hissed, letting go of his son. "That should be your last time."

Eren was annoyed that he couldn't even enjoy his first cigarette, which also turned out to be his last, according to his mother. He felt an irresistible urge to talk back.

"When I'm an adult, I'm gonna smoke like a fucking chimney, and you can't do a damn thing about that." he said under his nose.

"What was that?" Carla asked indignantly. "Now get into the house and wash your mouth. And I'm going to have a few words with Mr Hannes, for teaching you such bad habits. Disgusting!"

"I cannot agree more." Levi remarked to himself once the little interlude was finally over; or so he thought.

He was standing with Mikasa some distance away, not really wanting to see and hear all that, and feeling quite ashamed for their brother. Mikasa was worried, too. Levi was simply intrigued.

The brat's newfound liveliness and his way of pushing his luck with Carla never ceased to amuse him lately. After all, an annoyingly lively Eren was still better than a lifeless one, and he observed with some satisfaction that the sparks of will began returning to the boy's eyes.

Eren was grateful that at least he could be back in the warm house, instead of standing around in the chill, his butt freezing off. He didn't really make much effort in doing his job properly in the garden. In fact, he was slacking off most of the time, lost in his daydreams.

"Eren, you do nothing but worry me to death." Carla went on complaining. "Smoking at such a young age! What next? Why can't you be such a good child as Mikasa and Levi?"

"Because I'm _your_ child, and you made me that way." Eren replied nastily. "Can't help not being perfect…"

Carla raised her arm to deal a mighty slap, but just then, Eren was saved by the ringing of the doorbell.

"We're not finished yet." she threw a last warning at his son before rushing out to the front hall.

Levi and Mikasa exchanged the same glance, signalling a mutual agreement that their brother was a reckless idiot. This was the first secret signal between the two of them, and Levi was catching on how to communicate with his sister just by exchanging glances.

Eren threw himself down on the couch, totally unconcerned, nibbling on some raw potatoes he had stolen earlier from the kitchen.

"When's lunch ready?" he asked with a full mouth. "I'm starving."

Mikasa heaved an exasperated sigh. It was only around 9 in the morning, and Eren was already thinking about lunch. He was beginning to get just like their cousin Sasha, who had nothing but food on her mind.

Carla went to open the door, face flushed in an angry red, wondering who the unexpected visitor could be. But as she opened the front door and saw the tall and handsome man standing outside, her features immediately softened to return the man's friendly smile.

"Good morning, Mrs Jäger." the man said politely. "I'm Erwin Smith, a teacher from Liberty High. I believe we've met before."

"Yes…" Carla said, remembering him from the first day she escorted Mikasa and Eren to their new school.

"I'm really sorry to disturb you so early in the morning…" Erwin continued. "…but I was wondering whether I could borrow your sons for a while."

Carla's eyes widened in worry at the mention of his sons.

"Did they do something wrong, Mr Smith?" she asked nervously. "Are they in trouble?"

"Not at all." Erwin replied with a reassuring smile. "I only need them for a very important task. That is, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind the least, Mr Smith." Carla assured him. "I only hope they won't be much trouble for you. Especially Eren."

"Don't worry, Mrs Jäger. I know how to deal with unruly teenagers." Erwin said, laughing a bit, then noticed that Levi was also there, staring at him with a stabbing glance.

"Do come in, Mr Smith." Carla invited. "I'll fetch the boys for you."

"I'll go call Eren." Levi offered, eyeing the man suspiciously.

"Thank you, Levi." Erwin said. "Please tell him to be fully equipped, and wear these."

He handed him a pair of neatly folded cloaks, with the emblem of the Scouting Club on them. Levi rolled his eyes imperceptibly, leaving Erwin and Carla chatting pleasantly in the doorway.

"I couldn't help but notice how nice your front lawn is, Mrs Jäger." he heard Erwin's sweet-talking voice. "What kind of bushes are those? The flowers are just beautiful…"

Levi found Eren still lazily sprawled on the couch, watching TV and zapping the channels, the picture of utter carelessness and boredom.

"Get your lazy ass up. Erwin's here." Levi informed him. "We're off on a mission."

Eren gave a pained grunt, only sinking deeper in the couch.

"He wants us to wear our uniforms." Levi continued. "And these."

Levi threw Eren's cloak to him, saying in a rather urgent tone:

"Hurry up. Erwin's is making a move on Mom right now, and she's totally falling for his charm."

Eren was on his feet in an instant, stumbling down the stairs to his basement room and changing hastily into his uniform, not quite sure how to put the cloak on.

He found Levi in the font hall, already pulling on his boots.

"Are you married, Mr Smith?" they heard Carla's voice coming from the doorway.

The two adults were laughing pleasantly at something.

"Is he really flirting with Mom?" Eren said in a hushed voice, while trying to pull his boot on the wrong foot. "Disgusting…"

"I wouldn't put it beneath the bastard." Levi replied in an equally low voice, then corrected: "I mean, our _Commander_."

Once finally ready, they went to the front door, Levi with a straight back, Eren with hunched shoulders. Erwin measured them up with a dissatisfied glance, shaking his head.

"The first lesson for the new recruits: the salute of the proud members of the Scouting Club." Erwin said, looking serious. "Offer your hearts to the task!"

The salute was simple, yet complicated at the same time: right fist on heart, left arm behind the back. Levi imitated to gesture half-heartedly, while Eren fumbled clumsily, not sure which hand went where. Once he got it right, Erwin flashed them an approving smile, and even Carla managed to look less stern.

"I think my sons will be in good hands." she said, looking quite relieved. "Please don't be too lenient on them."

"I won't, Carla." Erwin reassured her, putting two strong arms on the boy's shoulders and steering them away from the house.

Eren didn't like the way Mr Eyebrows was already addressing his mother by her first name. He didn't understand why the man took all the trouble to come personally to their house, under the pretence of some Scouting Club bullshit.

But at least this time he came by car, and not on a horse. Eren wanted to take the front seat, but Levi was quicker than him, so he had to be content with the back, which Eren found was littered with various maps. Some of them looked quite old. He distracted himself by looking at them.

"What's this urgent mission?" Levi inquired in a disinterested voice, once they were on the road, seemingly heading for Liberty High.

"I have a task fitting for young heroes-in-the-making." Erwin replied with an enigmatic smile. "It's time for you to earn some feathers."

They didn't know what to expect, and they certainly weren't pleased when Erwin led them to the one place they never wished to see again. The unpleasant, upsetting scene of their previous fight, looking and smelling exactly like before.

"I hope it's just a fucking joke, Erwin." Levi said, wrinkling his nose in utter disgust.

"That's 'Commander' to you, remember?" Erwin said, grabbing the nape of Levi's neck. "And watch your language, especially when I'm around."

Erwin knew well Levi's weak spots, and Levi was really irritated by that. He hated people to touch him, and he was especially sensitive to the back of his neck.

"Now, get to work." Erwin ordered, supplying them with mops and a bucket of water each. "The piping is already repaired, so there shouldn't be any leaks. You just have to scrub the place clean and shiny. Not such a difficult task for you, Levi."

Levi bit back some nasty swearing, tying his best to stay calm and not to do something reckless.

"I'd love to supervise your work myself, but unfortunately, I'm a busy man." Erwin said, walking out on the door, which was hanging on its hinges since Levi kicked it in. "I'll send someone down to inspect. When you're ready, you may join me for tea."

Eren was really glad when they were finally rid of him. Even though the windows were now open, the place still smelled disgusting, and he didn't like the smell of cleanser, either. Levi was already scrubbing the floor vigorously, cursing under his nose.

"Don't slack off, you lazy shit." he said to Eren.

Eren, who was absent-mindedly staring out of the window, started working grudgingly.

"How come you two know each other?" Eren asked, curious about the strange relationship between Levi and his teacher.

"That's a long story, brat." Levi replied, eyes firmly on the task.

"We have time." Eren said, leaning against his mop. "This'll take _really_ long…"

"Don't expect me to entertain you with tales, while you just stand around and let me do all the dirty job, you lazy bum." Levi said angrily.

"I was just curious…" Eren shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm also curious about a couple of things, like how come you're so weird?" Levi asked, never stopping in his work. "How can you explain _that_?"

Eren shrugged his shoulder again, sliding his mop half-heartedly on the tiles.

"How about this." Levi said suddenly. "You tell your story, and I tell mine."

"That's not fair." Eren whined. "I was the one who asked first!"

"That's the only way it could ever be fair." Levi muttered, his eyes focused on some really nasty muck on the floor, the disgust evident in his gaze.

Eren searched his brains, but he wasn't sure whether he had anything to tell that could even remotely interest Levi, so he decided it was a bad idea even trying to initiate a conversation with him. Levi seemed to be in a really bad mood, anyway.

But in the end, he was bored with just scrubbing the filth, and he wanted to talk. At least it killed time.

"There was this man living at the end of the street." Eren began his story. "He kept dogs…"

But Levi never learned the rest, since the very same moment they could hear the sound of running footsteps on the corridor.

"Your girlfriend." Levi said, even before Hanji burst into the abandoned men's room.

"Oh, nooooo!" she wailed, her face contorting into a painful expression. "My precious germs! You killed them all! I even gave them names, but now they're all dead!"

Levi threw her a glance that was anything but sympathetic.

"Don't worry, Hanji." he said to her in an emotionless voice. "There's a walking breeding ground for yet undiscovered bacteria, waiting just for you to explore."

"Really?" Hanji perked up. "Where?"

"Right here." Levi said, steering her to Eren's direction.

"Oooh, Eren!" Hanji exclaimed excitedly. "Let me get some samples! Right now! I can't wait to find out what kind of germs live on you! Inside you! What a great experiment! I want to inspect every inch of your body, and find all those wonderful germs!"

"Hanji, you shouldn't be in there!" Petra said, lingering in the open doorway to the men's room.

"No worries, Petra." Hanji said carelessly, grabbing the girl's hand and dragging her in.

"We, um, we just came to see how you were doing." Petra explained, her eyes falling involuntarily on the row of urinals on the wall.

Her face went red, seeing all the obscenities scribbled on the walls and tiles. She immediately regretted coming in.

"Those are things only boys can piss in, Petra." Hanji enlightened her. "How they do it, beats me. I'd really want to see once, though. Once I tried it myself, and-"

"Do you two need any help?" Petra suddenly spoke up in a desperate attempt to shut Hanji up before she said something really embarrassing.

"Thanks, Petra, we're fine here." Levi answered. "This filthy dump is really no place for you girls."

"Oh, okay." Petra said, a bit put off. "Keep up the good work, then. And once you're done, don't forget to come up to the Commander's office."

"Right." Levi replied. "Tell the Commander that once we're done here, it'll be so clean he could even serve his damn tea in the porcelain."

Petra nodded, not sure whether she should repeat Levi's message word for word, but finally decided that she probably shouldn't.

"Thanks, Levi." Eren said sarcastically, once the girls were out of earshot. "Now I can't get rid of Hanji for the rest of my life."

"You finally have a girlfriend." Levi shrugged. "Mom'll be overjoyed."

"You must be kidding." Eren grimaced. "She's crazy."

"A fitting partner for you." Levi remarked.

"Fuck you, Levi." Eren cursed. "Don't just go and ruin people's lives like that."

"Okay, that was rude of me." Levi said with a sarcastic undertone. "How inconsiderate…"

Eren looked at him, small sparks dancing in his green eyes.

"Maybe you don't need a girlfriend at all. Maybe you're gay, you just don't have the balls to admit it." Levi said provokingly.

"I'm not." Eren snapped back, ready to hit Levi in the face with the dirty end of the mop.

"Don't spill the water, you fucking shit." Levi warned him as Eren was dangerously close to upsetting the bucket of cleaning water they used to mop up the place. "I'm not doing this all over again. I hate to do things twice. You either help me get this done, or get the hell out of here. Choose now."

"You have a stick up your ass, you know that?" Eren said, going back to his work.

He really had not the faintest idea why Erwin assigned them to this job, or what else the man had in store for them. The only thing he knew for sure was that he would probably have to spend more time with Levi than he intended. Eren found he didn't care much anymore, as long as he could annoy the hell out of Levi.

_And the morale of the story is that you better work your ass off in the hard way and earn your damn reward. And don't go pissing off heroes, or you're dead. And go clean your damn stables every once in a while, for fuck's sake. It's fucking gross... (Excerpt from an essay submitted by Levi Jäger, once a student of Liberty High, proud member of the Scouting Club.)_


	15. Mad Tea Party

**Notes: **This was a too long chapter, so in the end I left Levi's POV to the next chapter, in which he'll give a piece of his mind to Erwin. And I really can't blame anyone for hating Erwin, because he just turned out to be a scumbag in this story. For the time being...

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Mad Tea Party**

_Whenever my eyes fell on the teacup left behind on the table, last time touched by the hand I had refused to take, it served as a painful reminder of how precious time was, and how easily wasted._

"Now the scumbag can admire his fucking handsome reflection in the shiny clean tiles." Levi said, squeezing out the now not so dirty water from the mop.

"And his terrible thick eyebrows." Eren added, satisfied with their work, which was mainly done by Levi, but he did what he could.

"We're a fucking awesome cleaning team." Levi said somewhat appreciatively.

"You mean you and yourself, right?" Eren asked rather uncertainly.

"Yeah, right." Levi said in his usual tone. "You're lazy, useless…"

Eren rolled his eyes, knowing all too well what was coming. He was getting used to such verbal abuse.

"Cut that shit." Levi continued. "I was just complimenting you, you damn brat. Stop being so clueless."

"I'm not clueless." Eren replied indignantly, waving a toilet brush in one hand. "You're the one being sarcastic all the time."

"I'm usually not." Levi said, washing his hands.

"I can't even tell." Eren said, joining him at the sink. "Do you know that you're always speaking in a constant monotone, so I can't even tell when you're serious or when you're only joking?"

"You just have to figure me out, brat." Levi said, drying his hands on his cloak. "Takes time."

"A hundred years wouldn't be enough." Eren said with an exasperated sigh, doing exactly the same.

"That's because you're such a sloth." Levi said, turning to go. "Just give it a try."

"It really takes time, huh…" Eren said, following him out of the men's room.

"Yeah, and speaking of time, we're fucking late from the damn tea party." Levi reminded him. "Took us too long to finish this shit. They'll think we took our sweet time to have a roll in the hay as well."

"What's that?" Eren asked, completely clueless.

"Believe me, you don't want to find out…" Levi said grimly. "Let's go up and report to the Commander."

As they walked towards the stairs on the abandoned corridor, Eren caught a glimpse of something small jumping and disappearing at one corner, just before he could take a good look at it. He wasn't sure whether it was really there, or was it only a trick of his imagination. He was too hungry to think clearly.

"I'm starving!" Eren whined as he dragged himself up the stairs, his stomach growling audibly. "We missed lunch…"

"Don't complain to _me_." Levi said, already standing at the top of the stairs. "You should relate your woes to Erwin, maybe he'll take pity on you and throw you some biscuits."

"These steps are just killing me." Eren said, out of breath.

"Don't expect me to carry you up on my back." Levi looked down on him disapprovingly. "I could, but I won't."

"I wonder how the Commander managed to haul us up from down there all the way up into his office." Eren said, looking down on the many steps they had left behind, and the many they still had to go.

'Yeah, I won't forget about that, either.' Levi made a mental reminder to himself. 'I'll make him regret that, and a couple of other things…'

"He's strong as a bear." Eren continued, once they were upstairs and he could catch his breath a bit. "Is he even human?"

"I don't think so." Levi replied, going right into Erwin's office without as much as a quick knock on the door.

Eren was relieved to find that something more than just biscuits were waiting for them. A table was laid properly for tea, with teacups and saucers, and there were various kinds of cakes and sandwiches, too. Eren's mouth was watering at the mere sight. However, they couldn't just sit down to tea until they reported to the Commander, who was sitting behind his desk, absorbed in a conversation with the tall boy called Mike.

Coming closer to them, Eren noticed that they were looking at some documents, probably student's profiles. He saw the photo of a girl with pigtails, and a boy with blond hair. Both of them looked to him vaguely familiar. He must have met them on the corridors or somewhere in school.

Levi made an irritated sound, to which Erwin looked up from the papers.

"We cleaned up the damn loo." Levi announced unceremoniously. "Can we go home now?"

"Most certainly not." Erwin replied, gathering up the papers on his desk and putting them neatly away in a drawer. "Mike will inspect your work in a minute. In the meantime, please enjoy your tea."

He gestured towards the table which was set up at one end of his office, a noisy gathering already sitting around. And the noisiness was mainly due to Hanji, and the two other boys from third grade.

"Thank you, sir!" Eren said, eyes brightening at the prospect of some refreshment.

"Too damn busy to drag your lazy ass down and see it for yourself, huh…" Levi mumbled as he followed Eren to the table.

"Congratulations to the heroes of the day on doing a splendid job!" Hanji greeted the both of them loudly, balancing cups and saucers dangerously in her hands before putting them down on the table.

"It was only cleaning a filthy loo, Hanji. Hardly a heroic task." Levi said, clearly irritated by the girl's liveliness.

"You two must be hungry." Petra said, bringing a tray of sandwiches.

Hanji encouraged – or rather forced – the two of them to take a seat at the table, pushing plates before them.

"Thank you, Petra!" Eren said, piling his plate with sandwiches. "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

Petra smiled at him pleasantly, then turned with the tray to Levi.

"Thank you." he said. "Maybe later."

Petra looked a bit put off, but quickly rushed to pour tea into their teacups. Levi could see that this time she had small white feathers on the back of her cloak. She reminded him of a delicate bird sprouting wings.

"Congratulations on your feathers." he said to the girl's back.

Petra turned around rather uncertainly, meeting his eyes and confirming that Levi was speaking to her.

"They look good on you." Levi said in a voice that almost sounded kind.

Eren choked on his tea. Hanji slapped him a couple of times on the back, but that didn't really help, only made him spill tea everywhere. It totally sounded like Levi was making a move on Petra, for real. It wasn't Levi's usual habit to be polite, or to say kind things to people.

The girl was blushing and thanking him, and as Eren continued to observe the two of them, he could see that their hands touched for a moment as Petra handed Levi his teacup. His stomach turned slightly. He couldn't imagine such a kind girl falling for a conceited asshole like Levi.

On second thought, he could.

'It's all because his fucking perfect body and deceptively handsome face, even though he looks like a criminal and he's a totally unlovable asshole…' Eren thought, suddenly losing his appetite. 'A beautiful monster.'

His stomach was squeezed into a tight knot.

"Look how many feathers _I_ have!" Hanji began boastfully, fluttering her cloak in their faces.

But no-one was really paying attention to her lengthy explanation of how she had obtained them. Except for Petra, who was always polite and considerate.

"What's with the constipated look, brat?" Levi inquired, watching Eren's face with slight interest in his eyes.

"Nothing." Eren said, stuffing his mouth with sandwich so that he didn't have to talk.

"Don't you think Petra is a maid-type?" Levi remarked in a low voice.

Eren's face became hot. When would Levi ever let off teasing him like that? Only with difficulty could he swallow the food he stuffed into his mouth.

"Fuck you." Eren said, after taking another bite.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Levi reprimanded him. "It's gross."

"And you watch how you hold that fucking teacup." Eren talked back. "And stop tilting your chair like that, it's fucking annoying."

At that moment, Mike returned, bringing an unexpected addition to the party. Eren immediately forgot his annoyance with Levi, dropping his half-finished sandwich back onto his plate.

"Congratulations to our anti-heroes!" Hanji greeted the two boys with a huge smile, escorting a rather reluctant Berthold and Reiner to the table and making them sit down opposite to Levi and Eren.

Petra wasn't smiling at them, but wore a rather stern expression. Nevertheless, she offered them the tray of sandwiches, too.

Eren, who had been sitting sprawled on his chair before, now stiffened, shrinking and trying to appear small. He tried to resume his meal as if the two of them weren't there, but his hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, making a clattering sound against the saucer.

"Hey, shitheads." Levi suddenly called to them. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"None of your business, prick." Reiner replied gruffly.

"Now, now, let's be all friends!" Hanji said soothingly, patting Reiner and Berthold on the shoulder.

Eren could just imagine Hanji patting too fierce bulldogs on the head without the least concern. She was really mad.

"We got to clean the fucking stables while you suckers were enjoying your tea." Berthold spoke in the same unfriendly tone as his friend did.

Petra slammed down two plates before them, a bit more forcefully than she usually would.

"And that man here wants us to keep on doing such menial jobs for him, or else…"

"Shut up, Berthold." Reiner cut him off.

Levi's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Suddenly he sprang up from his seat. Eren did likewise, without even noticing it. Realizing that Levi was about to leave him alone with the bullies and the two girls, he acted instinctively and followed him.

Eren saw that Levi was heading straight towards their teacher, who was reading something at his desk. He hoped it wasn't the latest test they wrote for History. He knew he totally screwed up the dates, and he had not the faintest idea how to describe the battle strategies used during various wars, even though Armin explained them to him numerous times. He couldn't understand why it ever mattered anymore. The past was past, one should just forget about it.

He jumped when Levi slammed down his hand on the desk, right before the Commander. Levi's boldness with their teacher puzzled him. Scared him even. He didn't want to be in any more trouble because of Levi acting like that.

"Something's rotten." Levi began in a deadly tone.

"You have an acute sense of smell, don't you?" their teacher remarked, his eyes still on his reading.

"How come you let those two huge-ass bullies be for such a long time, while you threatened to kick us out for some petty fight in the loo? Explain me that." Levi demanded, to Eren's great horror.

Their teacher sat back in his chair, looking Levi evenly in the eye, his expression remaining calm and pleasant, seemingly without concern for Levi's harsh tone.

Eren had already regretted having to be a witness to all this. He tried to distract his thoughts in order not to feel too embarrassed. His wandering gaze fell on the deep green pendant the man wore around his neck. For a moment, Eren thought he could see a picture in it, but it seemed to change as the man leaned closer. Was in only a reflection?

"All this time I was waiting for the heroes to emerge." their teacher said. "The ones fit for the task."

"Heroes?" Eren asked, bewildered.

"What the fuck…?" Levi cursed.

"Which reminds me…" Erwin continued, opening a drawer on his desk and producing something that looked like pieces of fabric. "Your reward for taking down the giants, and for your cleaning accomplishments. Congratulations."

"Thank you, sir." Eren said, accepting the soft fabric pieces, wondering how he was supposed to attach them on his cloak.

"Commander…" Levi spoke in a voice that sounded ominous. "Do you think we could have a minute for ourselves?"

Erwin looked back at him for a while, then heaved a sigh and stood up. To Eren's surprise, he ordered all students – except for Levi – out of the room.

While the Commander and Levi were talking in the office, the proud – and some reluctant – members of the Scouting Club were waiting outside in complete bewilderment. They didn't have the faintest idea how Levi got the guts for such a request – or rather demand – to be alone with the Commander, and why the man was okay with that. Even though Levi earned respect in the school, nobody expected that he would dare to go up against Erwin Smith.

"Is that Levi speaking?" Hanji asked excitedly, plastering one ear to the door. "I've never heard him shouting before!"

"Can we go home now?" Reiner said in a bored voice, leaning against the wall.

A long period of tense silence followed inside, then something unexpected.

"Are they laughing now?" Petra asked, surprised.

The door soon opened, and they almost fell in a heap.

"Come in, teatime is on again." Levi said with his usual, unreadable expression, so that no-one could tell whether he was really angry or not.

"You can't leave until you clean it all up." Erwin said in his usual jolly voice, sitting at the tea table. "These muffins are delicious, Petra."

"Thank you, Commander!" the girl said happily.

"You really deserve some feathers for all your hard work." Erwin remarked, then asked: "Who wants to play cards?"

"I'm in, Commander!" Hanji said enthusiastically, dragging Eren by the arm and sitting him onto a chair.

Levi was cursing mentally, but sat down beside Eren, reluctant to leave the brat behind, who was obviously having such a wonderful time with his mad girlfriend.

Hanji poured them some more tea, and pushed Eren's cup into his hands, spilling some of its contents onto Eren's lap, but not even noticing. Eren stared at the pattern on the cup, and noticed it was different than before. He looked at Levi, and realized that Hanji made the two of them switch places at the table.

"What, brat?" Levi asked, sipping the tea.

Eren went bright red, and quickly put down the cup on the table.

'Fuck you, Hanji…' he cursed mentally. 'I hate tea parties.'

Looking around the table, Eren couldn't help but wonder how strange that gathering was, with the madly enthusiastic, and overtly self-confident Hanji; and her polar opposite Petra, who seemed to need a bit more confidence, but didn't lack in consideration like her friend. That boy Mike from fourth grade, tall as a tree and having the strange habit of sniffing people; and the always jolly and smiling Commander, who could be as fearsome as a giant just as well. And the two shithead bullies, now somewhat tamed, but still looking glum and intimidating. And Levi's noisy classmates from third grade; and Levi himself, who was a huge enigma for him.

As far as Eren could see, the Scouting Club consisted of a bunch of eccentric, mad people. But maybe only because he would need some time to see them differently. Maybe it was a fitting place for him. Maybe he belonged there.

_It took me time until I realized that all I really wanted was to feel like I belonged somewhere. Even if they were crazy, freaky or scary, I just longed to be accepted by someone. To be seen as something different than a monster. To have comrades…_


	16. Hero Game

**Notes:** I'm sorry for the slow progress and the sporadic update.

I hope there will be gradual improvement in the format (many thanks to dead or alive0013 for pointing it out), I'm working on it in the forthcoming chapters.

And there will be more Erwin, and Petra, and a lot of others, not just Eren and Levi, because I love all the wonderful characters that Isayama Hajime created, and I like writing about them, and don't favour Eren or Levi the least. In fact, I didn't really notice that Levi existed until everyone started fangirling about him.

This chapter directly follows the previous one, starting with Levi's POV.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Hero Game**

_Are the Heroes the only ones who can challenge Fate? Or are they merely pawns in Fate's hands?_

Something was stinking, and not just the smell of the stables that Berthold and Reiner had brought with them. It was faint, but unpleasant nevertheless, and Levi found it disgusting, offensive to his nose.

When Levi heard the clatter of porcelain from beside him, he threw a glance at Eren and saw instantly the discomfort on his face. It must have upset him, having to sit face-to-face with his tormentors.

"Hey, shitheads," Levi called to them as calmly as he could, which was a great feat in itself. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"None of your business, prick," came the rather provoking reply from the bulky one called Reiner.

"We got to clean the fucking stables while you suckers were enjoying your tea," his friend Berthold joined in, wiping his sweaty face on his shirtsleeve.

Levi was somewhat pleased that the two huge-ass guys got the dirtier end of the job. Still, there was something that kept on gnawing at the back of his mind.

"And that man here wants us to keep on doing such menial jobs for him, or else…" Berthold continued, until Reiner shut him up.

Levi's eyes narrowed in suspicion. There were a couple or two things he just couldn't put together. He threw a glance at Erwin, who was sitting behind his desk, seemingly busy. It was common knowledge that Berthold and Reiner were keeping the whole school in terror. Then why the hell didn't Erwin do something to stop them?

'Even though he's so fucking strong he could kill a bear with his bare hands,' he thought to himself. 'And he's a damn teacher, for fuck's sake. Authority all the way. Why did he have to wait until Eren was almost fucked in that shitty downstairs loo? And how did Hanji guess where they were? Too convenient to be a simple coincidence. And the scumbag showed up just too damn late. Was it a trap? Was I walking right into it? Why was Eren the bait? Why? Just fucking why?'

The too many unanswered questions were beginning to fuck up his mind. Levi wanted answers, and they wanted them now. He sprang up from his seat, not even realizing that Eren was following in his heels like a well-trained puppy.

Levi marched up to Erwin's desk, and slammed a hand down on it, demanding attention.

"Something's rotten," he said, assuming his deadliest tone.

"You have an acute sense of smell, don't you?" Erwin remarked, not even bothering to look up from the papers he was reading.

"How come you let those two huge-ass bullies be for such a long time, while you threatened to kick us out for some petty fight in the loo? Explain me that," Levi demanded.

Erwin sat back in his chair, looking Levi evenly in the eye.

"All this time I was waiting for the heroes to emerge," he said simply. "The ones fit for the task."

All Levi's suspicions were confirmed by his answer.

'So that's how it is…' he thought, narrowing his eyes at the man. 'You make people do the dirty job for you.'

And when the man proceeded to offer them some feathers for their hard work, Levi was ready to burst. It took all his self-restraint not to talk back, and give a piece of his mind on the whole stinking business, peppered with all kinds of insults at the man who sat so smugly in front of him.

"Commander…" Levi hissed between gritted teeth. "Do you think we could have a minute for ourselves?"

Cold grey eyes met icy blue ones, and the look they exchanged spoke volumes. But Levi knew that he couldn't convey everything with a mere glance. Erwin heaved a sigh and stood up, ordering the rest of the students out of the room.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, manipulating people like that?" Levi demanded, once they were alone.

"Know your place, Levi," Erwin warned him, but Levi had already lost his cool.

"I fucking don't care who the hell you're now!" Levi snapped back at him, now clearly shouting. "You won't tell me what to do! I'm not some damn puppet on a string! Whatever this shitty game is, I refuse to play!"

"Levi…" Erwin began in a vain attempt to pacify him.

"I'm out," Levi stated firmly.

"Levi, just think for a moment before you make such hasty decisions," Erwin tried to soothe him. "I made a promise to your mother, Carla – who is a remarkable, strong woman, I might add – and she put the two of you under my care. From now on, I feel it's my responsibility to-"

"Enough of that bullshit!" Levi cut him in. "I know you wormed your way into her affections by some dirty trick of yours, and you scared the damn brat shitless by threatening him with his own Mom. Erwin, you're disgusting. And you made me join this fucking Scouting Crap as well, so that you can drag me around as you please. I can't believe just how much of a scumbag you are!"

The man was looking back at him with an unchanging, calm expression.

"Well, I do admit that the purpose of the threat was to give Eren some incentive to join, but I really didn't expect you to agree as well. I have to tell you, it was quite a pleasant surprise," Erwin said with a faint smile.

Levi felt like he received a hit below the belt. The only thing he could do was to glare back at Erwin, who used his chance to continue.

"You're definitely not afraid of Carla, or anyone for that matter. You don't seem to care, either way," Erwin said. "Yet, you joined. Of your own will. Just ask yourself the question: why?"

Levi was struck speechless for a moment, turning the question over in his mind.

"Fuck, Erwin, your trap was more elaborate than I thought…" Levi cursed, realizing that he got totally tangled into it. "I thought the fucking deal only worked if we both agreed, and I did because…"

"Because it's not true that you don't care," Erwin finished for him, a triumphant smile appearing on his face.

Levi would never admit it, but he realized that in the end he only put the blame on Erwin for his own weakness. He just couldn't let that useless brat alone in the deep shit, either in having to face Carla's wrath, or joining the damn Scouting Club and becoming Erwin's puppet.

"You've made the right choice," Erwin said. "People are so much stronger when they work together."

Levi gave a defiant huff, but Erwin ignored him.

"Did you know that even humanity's strongest-"

"Save your tales for a better audience," Levi cut him in impatiently. "I'm not buying any of your crap."

"Levi. Trust me," Erwin said, his voice almost pleading. "You used to."

"Well, you have to earn my trust again, because you've completely lost it," Levi snapped back. "I can't even say I know you anymore."

"And I can say the same thing about you," Erwin looked back at him sharply.

Levi got the feeling as if they were repeating the same old argument for ages, and he was beginning to get tired of it.

"I'm changing, Erwin," he said in a low voice.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Erwin asked, his eyes watching Levi's face closely.

"I don't know…" Levi replied uncertainly.

"You've got a second chance. Use it. Live in a way you won't regret," Erwin said, and Levi couldn't understand why he always looked so optimistic about everything.

"I just want to be free, that's all," Levi heaved a tired sigh, walking to the window and looking out on the sky.

Erwin's inspecting gaze didn't miss the hint of longing reflected in those grey eyes.

"And so you shall be," Erwin reassured him. "But you have to earn your wings first. Heroes don't just fall from the sky. They are made through hard work and determination."

"Yeah, whatever. You talk complete nonsense," Levi let him be, not entirely sure what the man had meant by saying that, and suspecting for a long time that Erwin was mad.

Levi didn't want to argue anymore. Trying to argue with mad people was always troublesome, and pointless on the whole. He decided to let go of his anger, for the time being. At that moment, he did a rare thing: he apologized.

"Sorry for shouting," he said, turning back to Erwin. "I can't promise I won't do it ever again, though."

"At least do me a favour and don't do it in front of my students," Erwin requested. "And tone down your language a bit."

"Erwin, are you married now?" Levi asked, avoiding his gaze.

"What kind of question is that?" Erwin smiled.

After Levi satisfied his curiosity, more or less, the tea party was resumed. Hanji insisted on them all playing some card games, and Erwin was dealing the cards before anyone could even begin to protest. They were going to play 'Black Rabbit', and Eren was relieved that it was a simple enough game, but it made him embarrassed as well.

"Choose now, brat," Levi pressed him, holding out his cards for Eren, his face expressionless as usual.

Eren couldn't read a single thing from his eyes, and the fact that Levi wasn't even looking back at him made him bold enough to stare, his fingers hovering over Levi's cards, unable to make a decision.

It was already dark when the party finally broke up. Petra had left earlier with Erd and Gunther, followed soon by Berthold and Reiner. Hanji stayed to the end, collecting the teacups and enthusing about some 'samples' and 'new experiment'. She stuffed a spoonful of honey into Eren's mouth before he knew it, then put away the spoon in a sterile plastic bag. She tried to do the same thing to Levi, but got kicked in the shin. It became official for Eren: Hanji was mad. And the look he exchanged with Levi after the incident confirmed that Levi was on the exact same opinion.

Long after that, Eren was sitting above the remains of the tea, wondering what the hell was going on. Levi and Erwin were still playing some kind of card game, and somehow Levi kept on losing.

"You cheating bastard, you…" Levi cursed after another defeat.

"You're too easy to read, Levi," Erwin smiled contentedly.

Eren found it hard to believe. He couldn't see the slightest change in Levi's face, only when he was cursing. Then, his eyebrows would twitch slightly.

"Well, let's call it a day," Erwin finally announced. "How about I give you a ride back home?"

"No, thanks," Levi replied promptly, but Eren, the lazy sloth he was, spoke at the same time, "Thank you, sir."

Erwin's mouth curled up in the same self-satisfied smile that Levi hated the most.

Eren got the back seat again, and had another chance to inspect the strange maps in Erwin's car. He tried to read them in the semi-darkness, and found one map that was of the extensive Kirschten estate. He wondered why the name sounded familiar.

"So, how did you manage to make those shitty bastards join your Scouting Club?" Levi inquired. "Threatened them you'd fuck their mother, or what?"

"Watch your tongue, Levi," Erwin warned him again. "Remember what I told you. Show some respect."

Levi didn't really seem to care.

"You stay away from _my_ Mom, Erwin," he said in a deadly voice. "Don't think I haven't noticed you working your charms on her, too."

The man only chuckled. Eren had already noticed that the girls in school all seemed to be crazy about Mr Eyebrows, and he was always on the opinion that his so-called Scouting Club was just an excuse to gather his fangirls around him. He dreaded the time when Mikasa would also fall under the spell of the charismatic man, and he didn't like that his mother had already seemed completely bespelled.

"This is far enough," Levi suddenly said. "Thanks for the ride."

Eren recognized the neighbourhood, they were only a few blocks away from home. Erwin parked the car, and they got out.

"You're welcome anytime," their teacher replied with his usual, friendly smile. "Please forward my apologies to Carla for keeping you so late. I'm counting on you next time."

"Well, yes, sir," Eren said rather uncertainly. "Good bye."

"I'll take your damn advice, _Commander_," Levi said before he slammed the door shut, then muttered to himself, "Good riddance."

"Were you really shouting his head off, and then laughing like nothing happened?" Eren asked as they walked home, curious about what had happened between the two of them. "Were you actually _laughing_? So strange…"

Somehow he just couldn't imagine Levi laughing in a way that didn't give him the creeps.

"We can laugh like that because we're like brothers. Sort of," Levi explained. "You laugh a lot with Mikasa, don't you? Because you feel comfortable in each other's presence, you're not ashamed to show your emotions in front of the other."

It was more like a question than a statement, but Eren couldn't really decide, because he just failed to notice any change in Levi's tone.

"The kind of relationship we would probably never have even in a hundred years, as things are going now," Levi said, as if to himself, then reconsidered. "No, make it thrice the time."

"That's because…" Eren didn't really know how to reply, even though there were a couple of things he could list for why he didn't like Levi at all, and before he knew it, he was speaking them out loud. "You're such a badmouthing asshole. Why do you have to be so full of yourself? It's just fucking annoying. How do you even have so much confidence?"

"How?" Levi repeated, turning towards him and narrowing his eyes, giving Eren a stabbing glance. "For starters, the way you look at me. Don't think I haven't noticed when we were at the pools. Have you found anything to your liking?"

Eren's face became hot at the unexpected question. He suddenly choked on his words.

"Guessed so," Levi said dismissively. "You're so easy to read, brat. But I don't mind. I take it as a compliment. And that gives me a hell lot of confidence."

"Still, you're an asshole…" Eren mumbled, not really wanting to admit anything.

'A fucking beautiful one,' he thought, but would never say it out loud, and not into Levi's face.

"Whatever you think or feel about me, I don't care," Levi continued. "The important thing is how you feel about _yourself_."

"I'm quite fine with myself," Eren claimed.

"But are you happy?" Levi pressed.

"Why do you care about-?"

"I have my reasons," Levi said curtly. "I was talking with Mikasa this morning, and she's quite concerned about your happiness. And your friend Armin, too."

"Were you talking about me behind my back?" Eren asked indignantly.

"That's not the point here," Levi said, walking up to their porch.

Eren stopped dead in his track. He suddenly remembered that he had left his mother in a very bad mood. His expression must have really been easy to read, because Levi guessed his worries in an instant.

"Leave Mom to me, okay?" he said, looking down on Eren, who was still lingering at the foot of the steps to the porch. "I'll talk to her to let you some space. She's really suffocating."

Eren still refused to move. Levi seemed to measure him up again, as if contemplating something.

"What were you doing, smoking in the garden, anyway?" Levi inquired, out of curiosity.

"I was just following your fucking advice," Eren shrugged, avoiding his gaze. "Doing what teens usually do."

Levi suppressed an exasperated sigh, walking down a few steps so that their eyes were on the same level now.

"Don't get too cocky," he said to the boy in front of him.

"Says a conceited asshole," Eren came back at him, rolling his eyes.

"Don't provoke me, brat," Levi said in a warning tone, but Eren remained unfazed, crossing his arms before his chest.

"Or you're gonna kick my ass, Princess Shortie?"

"I'm very tempted," Levi replied in a voice that sounded serious. "However, how about settling this in a civilized manner, so that Mom wouldn't freak out?"

"What do you mean?" Eren asked, a bit intrigued about what Levi had in mind.

"A challenge," Levi suggested. "A game, if you wish. You like games, right? How about taking this feather-earning shit seriously? Not for Erwin's sake, but for our own purposes. To see which one of us is better."

Eren found that Levi's words made something stir inside him.

"Even though you're a hundred years too early to be my opponent," Levi continued, walking back to the porch. "But you can make use of that wonderful sports facility. I might even help you shape up, if you ask nicely."

"Sounds like something I'd regret later," Eren pondered for a while. "But if I have to get stuck in this Scouting Club thing for the rest of my schoolyears, I might as well have some fun…"

"You worded it aptly," Levi said in a strange voice. "Fun. Boys' games are always such _fun_."

Eren found that the way he said that was just totally unconvincing.

_Who writes the rules of the game? Whose hand moves the chess pieces on the table? Are we the hand, or are we…?_


End file.
